The short answer: go through the GP, not through the reports
A limited partner can help a portfolio company reach SourceX, but it should not use confidential information from fund reports to do it. The clean route is to ask the general partner to make or approve the introduction. The GP knows what the limited partnership agreement allows, controls access to the portfolio company's CEO and can confirm that the company has the rights to license anything. Your LPA and side letters decide the rest, so read them or ask counsel.
This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with your own counsel before acting.
Why LP access is different from GP access
An LP typically receives quarterly reports, annual meeting materials, capital account statements and sometimes co-investment offers. Those documents usually arrive under confidentiality provisions in the LPA or a side letter. They exist so the LP can monitor its investment, not so it can prospect for the fund's companies.
Three practical differences:
- No operating authority. An LP has no seat at the company's table, so it cannot direct management or request records.
- Information is restricted by purpose. Reports are given for monitoring, and using their contents to find referral targets is a use the LPA may not allow.
- The GP guards the relationship. Portfolio CEOs expect to hear about outside parties through the sponsor, and unsolicited contact from an LP can strain it.
Which routes are open to an LP?
| Route | Uses confidential fund information? | Typical fit |
|---|---|---|
| Ask the GP's investor relations or portfolio operations team to consider the program | No | Best default |
| Ask the GP to share the referral link with relevant portfolio companies | No | Works when the GP agrees to be the channel |
| Introduce the GP to the program, then step back | No | Appropriate when conflicts are unclear |
| Contact a portfolio CEO directly from a public website or your own relationship | Only if nothing came from fund materials | Needs a documented, independent source and GP awareness |
| Pick targets from the quarterly report or schedule of investments | Yes | Avoid unless counsel clears it |
A practical rule: if the only reason you know the company exists is a confidential report, route through the GP.
The 3-question LP test
- Source: could I explain how I know this company without referring to fund materials?
- Permission: does the LPA or my side letter say anything on contacting portfolio companies, and has the GP been told?
- Conflict: do I, my family office or my investment committee have other dealings with the company, or with a competitor that could be affected?
Any "no" on the first two, or a "yes" on the third, means the GP should lead.
How the GP-led path fits attribution
Credit goes to the first valid referrer whose introduction leads to a verified company application within the attribution window. If the GP, or a portfolio operations team member, submits the introduction first, credit goes to that registered partner. An LP who wants credit needs to be the first valid referrer, on a path the LPA allows, so agree on who submits before anyone does. Talking to the GP first avoids duplicate or disputed referrals, and the registered partner can be the GP, the LP or another party the two agree on.
For other conflicted referrers, the page on creditors referring debtors works through similar disclosure questions, and the one on sister companies under common ownership explains why group structures matter to headcount.
Who counts as an LP and who else is similar?
Family offices, endowments, foundations, pensions, fund-of-funds managers and high-net-worth individuals all invest as LPs. Their situations vary: a single-family office with direct co-investments may have an operating relationship with the company that a pension does not, and a fund-of-funds sees many GPs' reports at once, which magnifies the confidentiality issue. A joint-venture holder faces another version of the same problem; see the page on records created by a joint venture.
What to say to the GP
Which portfolio companies are worth the GP's time?
The screen is the same as for any partner. Look for 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), several years of documented operations, many systems and a sponsor who can sign. Companies with a conflict, where a sister company builds AI, need extra care; see the sister-company conflict page.
International LPs
If you are based outside the US, you can still join as a partner; the introduction must be of a US company. The guide for international partners covers the practicalities.
How rewards work
Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. The partner reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. Institutions such as endowments or pensions should check their own policies on receiving fees from the underlying investments.
When not to bother
Skip it when your LPA bars contact, when the GP is unresponsive and you have no independent source, or when the portfolio companies are below the headcount baseline.
Next step
Register as a partner and ask your GP to look at the company fit checker. The who qualifies page lists the baseline.