E658 | Martin Scherrer, Redstone VC: CVC Secondaries Without Burning Bridges
EUVC · EUVC
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Show Notes
Corporate venture capital isn’t just having “a bit of VC on the side.”
Done well, it’s a strategic lens on the future. Done badly, it’s a short-lived pet project with a half-life of 3.7 years and a trail of confused founders and annoyed co-investors.
In this episode, we sit down with Martin Scherrer, Partner & Head of Managed Funds at Redstone, alongside our own CVC lead Jeppe Høier, to unpack what really happens when corporates leave venture — and how to do it without destroying value or reputation.
Redstone runs a dual model: classic VC funds + “VC-as-a-Service” for corporates and family offices. Martin himself has lived three lives:
Inside Swiss Re’s CVC (later shut down)
As a founder of an insurtech in Switzerland
Now as VC & fund manager at Redstone across multiple corporate mandates.
🎧 Here’s what’s covered:
01:37 Why Martin? Why now? — Jeppe on Redstone’s VC-as-a-service role, his history with them, and why Martin is the go-to voice on CVC secondaries.
02:50 Redstone in both worlds — Martin explains Redstone as a VC + CVC-as-a-service platform with deep corporate, VC, and founder roots.
06:12 Portfolio thinking 101 — Why corporates underestimate startup investing, ignore the J-curve, and must commit to true portfolio construction + financial KPIs.
09:37 Runoff vs. selling the bag — Score case: options to sell the whole portfolio at a 50–80% NAV discount vs. patient value-maximising runoff.
13:54 Spin-outs & resilience — How CVCs can evolve into mixed-LP or fully independent VC funds (Swisscom Ventures, Berliner Volksbank → Redstone Fintech III).
18:27 Follow-ons in “shutdown mode” — Why corporates sometimes should still fund follow-ons in runoff to unlock new investors and protect upside.
20:25 Designing the partnership — Governance, IC design, reporting (e.g. IFRS 9), and performance-based structures that align Redstone and corporates.
31:41 Managing vs. buying portfolios — How Redstone runs CVC runoff as an external manager with fees + carry, versus secondary buyers who acquire the assets outright.
44:02 How to avoid a wind-down — The “gold standard”: bring in third-party LPs, avoid annual-budget setups, ringfence capital in a dedicated entity, and keep exec sponsors close.