What is there both a Management Company and a General Partner entity? Why not use one entity instead?

The separation between the Management Company and the General Partner entity in a Venture Capital firm/fund structure allows for scalability and flexibility. The Management Company owns the brand and intellectual property, and is where the firm's owners and/or managing partners are located. The General Partner entity, which is majority owned by the Management Company, is where partners managing only one specific fund sit. This structure allows for the addition of new funds under the same firm, facilitating growth and scalability. It also allows for the inclusion of partners or Venture Partners in one specific fund without requiring them to be part of the Management Company.

There are other Venture Capital firm structures that use one entity to fulfill both Management Company and General Partner functions, or keep them both but have them separated instead of stacked vertically via ownership. This depends on the particular circumstances of the setup, but will generally have much more complex agreements.  

We recommend simplicity and scalability as the default principle whenever possible.