We show how the structure of partner incentives and decision processes within a venture capital firm contribute to fund performance and partnership success. Optimal capital allocation during staged financing requires that partner incentives encourage cooperation by linking a partner's compensation to the return on the entire fund rather than return on the investment sponsored by an individual partner. Incentives for individual performance are optimally provisioned by a higher profit share in a subsequent fund. Our paper provides an economic underpinning to empirical observations about partner pay and the internal organization of venture capital firms.