Family Offices + Independent Sponsors = Strong Match

James warns that when 1 LP represents 80-90% of the capital in a deal, the sponsor is no longer in control. This power dynamic evolves over the course of a deal (pre- and post-closing), but also over time as an independent sponsor builds a portfolio and track record. Where sponsors often accept any capital they can find, James argues that sponsors must reference check investors with the same rigor that LPs apply to GPs: talk to past partners, ask how they behaved when deals broke or when numbers missed. His analogy is dating, where early chemistry means nothing if incentives diverge later.