Скачать или смотреть Alexey and Alexander, Social Discovery Ventures: Betting Across Borders & Global Play on European VC

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

Today, we’re joined by Alexey Plesakov and Alexander Lis from Social Discovery Ventures (SDV) — a quietly influential, globally active investment firm deploying capital across the US and Europe. Born out of the bootstrapped success of Social Discovery Group (the company behind Dating.com), SDV invests in both funds and directs, with a venture allocation far above the family office norm.

We dive into their origin story, why they’re leaning into Europe now, their approach to fund vs. direct investments, and how they think about the future of VC in a more uncertain macro climate.

🎯 This Episode’s Themes:

From bootstrapped dating giant to global LP & VC player

Why diversification isn’t just about having “more investments”

How they balance US vs. European VC allocations

The case for emerging managers — and the collaboration edge they offer

Where they see the biggest bets in European tech over the next decade

Why they’re playing more conservatively in 2025 — without stopping deal flow

Lessons from building lean — and the “Five Whys” test for cutting through hype

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

00:24 | Welcome & Origin Story: From Dating.com to a global investment portfolio

01:24 | Bootstrapping a Unicorn: How Social Discovery Group scaled without outside capital

04:38 | The Myth of Diversification: Quality over quantity in portfolio construction

06:19 | Why 30%+ of Their Assets Are in Venture Capital

08:44 | Leveraging Network Effects: How their IT roots give them an edge in sourcing deals

09:31 | VC Fund Portfolio: From NEA & Khosla to emerging managers like Davydov & Black River

14:26 | US vs. Europe: Why their overall portfolio skews 70% US but VC is more balanced

15:55 | Emerging Managers vs. Big Names: Risk, return, and picking the right early funds

19:41 | Big Picture Bets: Tariffs, decoupling, and a possible US–Europe tech split

22:31 | Direct Investment Focus: Fintech, PSD3, and voice-first neobanking

25:07 | Macro vs. Micro: Combining top-down analysis with bottom-up deal work

27:05 | Playing Defense in 2025: Why they’re slowing deployment without stopping pipeline building

30:23 | European VC Arbitrage: Lower valuations — until growth takes off

34:23 | Bootstrapping Lessons: Discipline, burn control, and ROI-driven decisions

35:25 | The “Five Whys” Test: Cutting through hype to find fundamentally sound investments