VC10X
VC10X - Stop Competing with Sequoia: Finding Alpha in Secondaries & Emerging Markets
AI Summary
In this episode, Maxim and Pavel of FinSight Ventures explain their "secondary‑first" approach, using secondary market purchases from employees and liquidity‑seeking funds to secure stakes in high‑growth companies like Anthropic, SpaceX, Stripe and Palantir, and they unveil a $50 million Generative AI Index Fund that applies index‑style investing to private markets. They contrast their US secondary strategy with a fund‑of‑funds model for India and a focus on "local monopolies" and super‑apps in emerging markets such as Uzbekistan, highlighting how AI‑native startups can outpace incumbents. The conversation also covers how they assess revenue stickiness, gross margins, and market dynamics to find alpha in inefficient markets worldwide.
Episode Description
In this episode, we sit down with Maxim and Pavel from FinSight Ventures to explore their unique "secondary-first" investment strategy, which allows them to capture equity in giants like Anthropic, SpaceX, Stripe, and Palantir.
We dive deep into their newly launched $50M Generative AI Index Fund, a novel product bringing index investing logic to private markets.
Maxim and Pavel also break down their distinct approaches for different geographies—operating as a "fund of funds" in India while pursuing "local monopolies" and super-apps in emerging markets like Uzbekistan.
Tune in to understand why they believe AI-native startups will beat incumbents and how they find alpha in inefficient markets globally.
⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com
In this episode, we cover:
-
Why the "middle" is missing in private market investing.
-
How to buy secondaries from early employees and liquidity-seeking funds.
-
The "Fund of Funds" strategy for penetrating the Indian market.
-
Why AI-native startups have a long-term advantage over incumbents.
Companies & Concepts Mentioned:
Portfolio Highlights: Zoom, SpaceX, Anthropic, Palantir, Stripe, Razorpay, Medibuddy.
Concepts: Secondary Markets, Index Funds, Super Apps, Fund of Funds, DPI (Distributed to Paid-In Capital).
Links -
FinSight Ventures - https://www.finsightvc.com/
Maxim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazarovmaxim/
Pavel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavelgurianov/
Website: https://VC10X.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Finsight's unique value proposition in securing competitive deals.
(00:23) - Finsight's secondary-first strategy for its growth stage portfolio.
(00:41) - Adapting investment strategies to find alpha in different markets.
(01:30) - Episode introduction and sponsor message.
(03:12) - Finsight's core investment thesis across diverse global markets.
(04:46) - The logic behind Finsight's $50 million generative AI index fund.
(06:10) - How the growth of secondary markets enables an index fund strategy.
(07:28) - Securing allocations in category-defining companies like Anthropic and SpaceX.
(09:09) - Who sells in the secondary market: employees vs. VCs.
(10:15) - How Finsight sources secondary deals from individual employees.
(12:00) - Finsight's specific investment angle and focus in the Indian market.
(15:05) - Comparing the US secondary approach vs. the India fund-of-funds model.
(16:49) - The philosophy of finding alpha by understanding a fund's strengths and weaknesses.
(18:10) - Key trends in enterprise AI adoption and the shift to sustainable revenue.
(22:09) - How to judge the stickiness and sustainability of an AI startup's revenue.
(24:03) - Using gross margin as an indicator of a product's ROI.
(25:17) - The conviction behind investing in Uzum, Uzbekistan's first unicorn.
(27:40) - Insights into building a global VC firm with diverse strategies.
(30:59) - Evaluating Anthropic in the competitive landscape of large language models.
(34:36) - The biggest misconceptions about Finsight's global investment strategy.
(38:21) - Start of the Rapid Fire Round.
For sponsorship or guest appearance requests, write to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com
Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
#VentureCapital #GenerativeAI #SecondaryMarket #Investing #SpaceX #Anthropic #IndiaStartupEcosystem #PrivateEquity #TechInvesting
Show Notes
In this episode, we sit down with Maxim and Pavel from FinSight Ventures to explore their unique "secondary-first" investment strategy, which allows them to capture equity in giants like Anthropic, SpaceX, Stripe, and Palantir.
We dive deep into their newly launched $50M Generative AI Index Fund, a novel product bringing index investing logic to private markets.
Maxim and Pavel also break down their distinct approaches for different geographies—operating as a "fund of funds" in India while pursuing "local monopolies" and super-apps in emerging markets like Uzbekistan.
Tune in to understand why they believe AI-native startups will beat incumbents and how they find alpha in inefficient markets globally.
⭐ Sponsored by Podcast10x - Podcasting agency for VCs - https://podcast10x.com
In this episode, we cover:
- Why the "middle" is missing in private market investing.
- How to buy secondaries from early employees and liquidity-seeking funds.
- The "Fund of Funds" strategy for penetrating the Indian market.
- Why AI-native startups have a long-term advantage over incumbents.
Companies & Concepts Mentioned:
Portfolio Highlights: Zoom, SpaceX, Anthropic, Palantir, Stripe, Razorpay, Medibuddy.
Concepts: Secondary Markets, Index Funds, Super Apps, Fund of Funds, DPI (Distributed to Paid-In Capital).
Links -
FinSight Ventures - https://www.finsightvc.com/
Maxim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nazarovmaxim/
Pavel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavelgurianov/
Website: https://VC10X.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/choubeysahab
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Finsight's unique value proposition in securing competitive deals.
(00:23) - Finsight's secondary-first strategy for its growth stage portfolio.
(00:41) - Adapting investment strategies to find alpha in different markets.
(01:30) - Episode introduction and sponsor message.
(03:12) - Finsight's core investment thesis across diverse global markets.
(04:46) - The logic behind Finsight's $50 million generative AI index fund.
(06:10) - How the growth of secondary markets enables an index fund strategy.
(07:28) - Securing allocations in category-defining companies like Anthropic and SpaceX.
(09:09) - Who sells in the secondary market: employees vs. VCs.
(10:15) - How Finsight sources secondary deals from individual employees.
(12:00) - Finsight's specific investment angle and focus in the Indian market.
(15:05) - Comparing the US secondary approach vs. the India fund-of-funds model.
(16:49) - The philosophy of finding alpha by understanding a fund's strengths and weaknesses.
(18:10) - Key trends in enterprise AI adoption and the shift to sustainable revenue.
(22:09) - How to judge the stickiness and sustainability of an AI startup's revenue.
(24:03) - Using gross margin as an indicator of a product's ROI.
(25:17) - The conviction behind investing in Uzum, Uzbekistan's first unicorn.
(27:40) - Insights into building a global VC firm with diverse strategies.
(30:59) - Evaluating Anthropic in the competitive landscape of large language models.
(34:36) - The biggest misconceptions about Finsight's global investment strategy.
(38:21) - Start of the Rapid Fire Round.
For sponsorship or guest appearance requests, write to prashantchoubey3@gmail.com
Subscribe to VC10X on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts.
#VentureCapital #GenerativeAI #SecondaryMarket #Investing #SpaceX #Anthropic #IndiaStartupEcosystem #PrivateEquity #TechInvesting
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