How Blackhorn Ventures leverages KPIs to drive portfolio performance
.png)
In a recent Aumni-hosted webinar, we had the pleasure of speaking with Cameron Carver and Will Cognetti from Blackhorn Ventures, an early-stage VC firm, to talk about the role of KPIs in venture capital.
A KPI-driven culture
Most venture capital firms treat portfolio company KPI tracking as fundamental to their fund operations. Blackhorn is no exception–from understanding product-market fit to evaluating risk, KPIs guide both their day-to-day decision-making and long-term strategy. At a baseline, the firm focuses on revenue, ARR, burn, and runway, but they’re also digging deeper.
“We’ve taken a real concerted effort into revamping how we track KPIs,” said Cameron. “It’s about going beyond the board meeting to have real-time, meaningful conversations with founders.” This includes metrics like LTV to CAC, revenue per employee, and burn multiples, tied to specific team functions within their portfolio companies.
How Blackhorn has adapted
The team acknowledged that the KPI conversation has evolved significantly since the onset of COVID and the end of the zero-interest-rate era.
“It takes longer to raise between financing rounds, and the bar has been raised,” Will noted. “That’s changed how we think about tracking and where we lean in to support.”
In response, Blackhorn now encourages portfolio companies to report more frequently and transparently, helping them navigate longer fundraising timelines and a more demanding capital environment.
The role of Aumni
KPI collection and extraction can be time and resource-intensive for VC firms. Blackhorn credits Aumni for helping reduce the manual overhead of KPI collection and document tracking. By using Aumni’s automated workflows, they collect P&Ls, board decks, and KPI data more efficiently – freeing up time to act on insights rather than chasing them. Referring to the ease and accuracy of using Aumni for KPIs, Cameron said , “It’s been really nice to have that direct tie into documents, and trust the data.”
Looking ahead: AI and customization
The conversation also touched on what’s next. Blackhorn is piloting AI tools internally and sees major potential in applying them across market research, MarComs, and investment workflows. They’re also excited about upcoming Aumni features – especially around cap table integration and scenario modeling. Check out the full webinar for more on what’s next.
.png)
.png)
.png)
©2023 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC.
This material is not the product of J.P. Morgan’s Research Department. It is not a research report and is not intended as such. This material is provided for informational purposes only and is subject to change without notice. It is not intended as research, a recommendation, advice, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial product or service, or to be used in any way for evaluating the merits of participating in any transaction. Please consult your own advisors regarding legal, tax, accounting or any other aspects including suitability implications, for your particular circumstances or transactions. J.P. Morgan and its third-party suppliers disclaim any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the quality, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, currency or completeness of the information herein, and for any reliance on, or use of this material in any way. Any information or analysis in this material purporting to convey, summarize, or otherwise rely on data may be based on a sample or normalized set thereof. This material is provided on a confidential basis and may not be reproduced, redistributed or transmitted, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of J.P. Morgan. Any unauthorized use is strictly prohibited. Any product names, company names and logos mentioned or included herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Aumni, Inc. (“Aumni”) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Access to the Aumni platform is subject to execution of an applicable platform agreement and order form and access will be granted by J.P. Morgan in its sole discretion. J.P. Morgan is the global brand name for JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. Aumni does not provide any accounting, regulatory, tax, insurance, investment, or legal advice. The recipient of any information provided by Aumni must make an independent assessment of any legal, credit, tax, insurance, regulatory and accounting issues with its own professional advisors in the context of its particular circumstances. Aumni is neither a broker-dealer nor a member of any exchanges or self-regulatory organizations.
383 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10017
