EUVC E630 | Alexey Plesakov and Alexander Lis, Social Discovery Ventures (SDV): 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