Redstone’s co-founder on building Europe’s original data-driven VC platform, why specialization beats scale, and how their new evergreen LTIF gives investors exposure to 200+ ventures through a single allocation.
Today, we’re going inside a firm that’s been doing data-driven VC long before it became a meme.
Redstone is a European specialist investor built as a dual company from day one:
a family of focused VC funds on one side and a full software & data platform on the other.
They’ve quietly compounded a model that avoids hype cycles, sticks to fundamentals, and delivers consistent performance across every fund. All with zero public money and a reputation earned through work, not noise.
In this pitch episode, co-founder Michael Brehm joins us to break down how Redstone actually works under the hood, and to introduce something new: a structure that lets investors access 200+ European ventures with a single investment.
Let’s dive in.
Here’s what’s covered:
03:10 The “one investment → 200 ventures” pitch
04:42 Redstone’s 3.2x DPI and early fund performance
06:34 The three pillars: specialization, data, Europe
11:21 The truth about “data-driven VC”
14:08 Inside Redstone’s operating model
18:37 Why sector-specific funds matter
20:41 Case study: avoiding hype cycles, backing cybersecurity early
23:02 How the LTIF gives exposure to all strategies
25:27 Distributions, liquidity, returns mechanics
26:25 How LTIF allocates into the underlying funds
In this episode, Michael walks us through:
The One-Investment > 200-Ventures Concept
Redstone has launched the Redstone Global Venture LTIF, an evergreen, semi-liquid structure that allocates into all of the firm’s specialist strategies — Deep Tech, FinTech, Enterprise, Health, Education, Ocean Tech, and more.
Instead of investors having to build a portfolio of 10+ funds over multiple vintages, the LTIF delivers broad diversification through one subscription and one ISIN.
“If you remember one line today: one investment, over 200 ventures. That’s European VC simplified.” — Michael Brehm
This is what diversification in VC should look like — exposure across sectors, geographies, stages, vintages, and investment teams, in a single product designed for private banks, wealth managers, and professional investors.
A 3.2x DPI Average And Why It’s Possible
A key reason Redstone compounds faster than most platforms:
they don’t run mega-funds. They run right-sized, specialist vehicles.
Smaller funds mean:
earlier distributions
faster recycling
faster DPI
more aligned incentives
the ability to win allocations in competitive rounds
Michael walks through examples like Athenium Partners (10x+) and explains why “specialization + size discipline” consistently outperforms large generalist funds.
“We built the tech company first, and the investment company on top of it.” — Michael Brehm
Europe as a Returns Engine
Redstone is structurally long Europe — and for reasons that go beyond sentiment.
European venture offers:
lower entry valuations (often 50–100x lower)
denser technical talent
more capital-efficient founders
more rational pricing cycles
Put simply: you don’t need Silicon Valley exit multiples when you never paid Silicon Valley prices.
Or as Andreas puts it:
“Unless you build an infrastructure people can’t replicate, the best talent eventually spins out.”
Europe’s fragmentation isn’t a bug. Managed correctly, it’s a moat.
How Redstone Built a 12-Year Operating System for Venture
Before Redstone built a family of funds, they built SOPHIA — a full operating system designed to standardize, accelerate, and professionalize venture investing.
It includes:
sector mapping
deal benchmarking
structured DD workflows
founder scoring
proprietary sourcing
risk & signal tracking
cross-fund learning infrastructure
Every startup is graded on a standardized scale, enabling comparative decision-making across thousands of companies and multiple sector teams.
Michael explains how this creates compounding force:
“We can have 30 people work on a competitive deal for three days. That’s 90 working days of DD — because we’ve unbundled the entire investment process into software-supported micro-steps.”
This is how you scale conviction investing without sacrificing quality.
Why Most Funds Are Overselling “Data-Driven VC”
Michael is refreshingly blunt:
Most VCs using PitchBook or scraping datasets are not data-driven.
Being data-driven requires:
a full-stack operating model
software-embedded investment decisions
standardized analysis
repeatable judgment
cross-fund knowledge transfer
teams trained to operate within a shared architecture
It only works when the firm is built as a company, not a partnership of individuals.
“We built Redstone as a company, not just a fund. That’s the only way you build something scalable and lasting.” — Michael Brehm
“We’re conviction-driven. If we don’t deeply believe, we don’t invest.”
The LTIF Structure: Venture Made Practical
The Redstone Global Venture LTIF is built to solve the biggest structural barriers to entering VC:
Evergreen
No vintage timing required.
Distributing
LPs receive cash distributions starting in year two.
Semi-Liquid
Scheduled exit windows after year eight.
One ISIN, no capital calls
Designed for banks, wealth managers, family offices.
Diversified exposure
Across all Redstone sector funds — both equity and venture debt.
Efficient fee structure
No secondary carry; capital is allocated dynamically into the strongest-performing underlying funds.
This is not a fund-of-funds.
This is a single-entry venture portfolio backed by a proven platform and a decade of performance.
“One investment, 200 ventures. That’s what practical VC exposure should look like.” — Michael Brehm
