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Many private investors try to find one great company at a time. Dmitry Borisovich Volkov chose a different path. Instead of competing for single, hard-to-reach deals, he built a program that invests in proven venture funds around the world. The idea is simple. When a fund backs dozens of early companies, even a small commitment can open the door to a broad set of opportunities. Since 2013 this approach has guided capital commitments from SDVentures totaling $115 million. Internal reporting shows an average net return of sixteen percent per year, a figure that reflects the combined performance of the underlying funds.
Before turning to investment, serial entrepreneur Dmitry Volkov spent years growing online platforms at scale. That history taught him how much early knowledge lives inside specialist venture firms. By adding capital to those firms rather than fighting for late invitations, he gains indirect exposure to new ideas the moment they start to form. This plan keeps operating risk low while still capturing upside from young businesses that fit modern consumer needs.
The program rests on two guiding ideas. First is access. By forming long-term partnerships with fund managers, SDVentures receives regular updates about trends and early product signals long before most of the market sees them. Second is balance. Twenty-two active fund relationships reduce dependence on any single outcome. The mix includes large global names known for deep networks and smaller specialists focused on emerging niches. This spread provides both reach and resilience.
For Dmitry Borisovich Volkov, choosing a venture fund takes more than reading past returns. SDVentures looks at how each manager sources founders, how carefully capital is deployed, and whether past successes came from repeatable methods. The firm also reviews governance policies. Funds that build clear rules for data protection and basic cybersecurity awareness tend to align with SDVentures’ own standards. Such checks help ensure that new portfolio companies start with a culture of digital responsibility and ethics instead of adding those features only after problems appear.
SDVentures is an investment firm backed by capital from Dmitry Volkov, while Social Discovery Group is the portfolio of online platforms he originally built and still oversees. The two entities operate separately, but knowledge gained from running large consumer services at SDG helps inform the investment questions SDVentures asks. Beyond that exchange of insight, SDVentures and SDG keep their financial and management structures distinct.
Venture investing always carries uncertainty. Market shifts, team missteps, and regulatory changes can affect returns. SDVentures uses three simple risk tools. Diversification spreads exposure, annual pacing avoids single-year stacking, and clear exits keep focus on realised cash events rather than paper values. Regular contact with managers also alerts the firm when follow-on capital needs rise or when a strategic buyer appears. By staying close to information, the team can respond before risk compounds.
Public news often highlights large company valuations, but there are other yardsticks. A good firm tracks net value created relative to invested capital, time to partial liquidity, and how many portfolio firms reach meaningful revenue milestones. Early signs of durable user adoption matter on equal footing with formal valuation marks. This balanced view keeps attention on trust and transparency in social platforms rather than short-term price swings.
While SDVentures does not direct the exact picks of each manager, the current look-through portfolio contains notable names in health, finance, and the creator economy. Apps that help users track personal wellness, tools that allow artists to earn predictable income, and digital finance platforms that simplify everyday money all show strong user engagement. These areas coincide with global demand for secure, user-centric solutions, making them natural fits for the investment theme.
Oaktree Capital and Bain Capital anchor the more mature end of the spectrum. Oaktree is best known for credit and distressed assets, bringing deep skill in complex capital structures and late-stage special situations; its acquisition by Brookfield has added stable, long-term funding without changing its contrarian focus. Bain Capital pairs operational discipline with growth capital, helping portfolio companies expand and professionalize on a global scale. At the early-stage frontier, Khosla Ventures backs high-risk ideas in AI, climate, and biotech, while 500 Startups (now 500 Global) runs large accelerator programs that give diverse founders a first shot at venture support. Jerusalem Venture Partners strengthens Israel’s tech scene, especially in cybersecurity and semiconductors, and Blockchain Capital concentrates on crypto infrastructure with long-term conviction.
Dmitry Borisovich Volkov’s SDV also includes several European and transatlantic firms. Mangrove Capital Partners, Lakestar, and DN Capital have each demonstrated that world-class tech companies can emerge from Europe, offering cross-border scaling help and local market insight. Seven Seven Six adds a consumer-and-creator focus, using custom portfolio software to automate manual VC tasks. TPG reflects SDV’s goal is to generate profit through restructuring/restoring the value of the companies in which the fund invests, while Oaktree’s credit expertise offers downside protection in more complex deals. Black River Ventures and Bling Capital take niche or hands-on approaches at seed, and DCM bridges the United States and Asia with cross-border enterprise and consumer investments. Finally, NEA stands out for sheer scale, deploying capital across many sectors and geographies while supporting firms from early rounds through public markets.
SDVentures expects to keep using the Fund of Funds design while adding selective direct co-investments in sectors that match core goals. Topics under review include software that improves mental-health access, new identity tools for secure log-ins, and consumer AI helpers that save time on daily tasks. All potential moves will go through the same manager and market screens that have guided the program since it began.
Over ten years, Dmitry Volkov has taken SDVentures from a single idea to a global Fund of Funds holding twenty-two venture relationships and commitments of $115 million. Average growth of sixteen percent a year shows that a disciplined, partner-first model can create strong results without racing after every headline deal. By linking investment practice to lessons learned inside Dmitry Volkov’s Social Discovery Group, the program keeps a clear focus on security, user trust, and responsible scale. For observers who follow how capital shapes tomorrow’s technology, the Fund of Funds stands as a straightforward example of steady growth built on shared expertise and simple, time-tested rules.
