Konstantin Sidorov’s tech credibility is of the highest order. The formidable self-starter founded a small tech business in the 1990s and rapidly grew the company to a multinational conglomerate, RRC, a branch of which was sold in 2016 to Ingram Micro, a US-based NASDAQ-listed company.
Sidorov went on to invest into a number of blue chip tech companies including Spotify and Lyft.
As an investor, he quickly identified a number of barriers to entry for other potential single investors, primarily, insufficient knowledge of the market/products and inaccessibility of the best deals. This informs the average level of a single individual’s investment and by default precludes allocation, the minimum threshold to entry being quite high and typically limited to VCs.
What does one do when entry level is reserved to large and super well capitalised entities?
One starts a club for like-minded investors, of course – or at least, if one does if one is Konstantin Sidorov.
Armed with redoubtable contacts (Mikhail Fridman is on his board of advisors, as are June Felix and Itzik Parnafes, among others), his own enviable reputation for making the right picks, and a number of high net worth contacts eager to invest alongside him, Sidorov set up the London Technology Club (LTC).
The proliferation of private clubs set up to cater to the interests of like-minded individuals, primarily those in the high disposable income bracket, is a by-product of lifestyle: well-defined interests, time paucity, and a natural propensity for socialising amongst one’s peers.
LTC’s main proposition is: “Gain access to the best venture capital funds and projects with attractive returns”. However, membership offers a great deal more than that.
The investment element aside, the platform publishes well-researched and written white papers on subjects that represent members’ primary interests, i.e. the increasingly pivotal role of technology in the art, supercar and rare car markets, longevity and philanthropy.
A newly launched magazine, Venture, publishes these white papers in print.
The club has an office on Pall Mall, and utilises the facilities of 67 Pall Mall, where many of its networking events take place. Events range from the physical to webinars, the latter gaining traction and generating greater interest during the pandemic.
There is no shortage of venues wanting to host LTC’s events or clubs vying for reciprocal arrangements: the fewer than 100 names that comprise the membership are either stratospherically well known or wealthy, or more frequently both. Each pays an entry fee of between £8000 (individual) and £25000 (golden corporate).
Recently introduced is another type of investment for members keen to co-invest alongside the founder, Sidorov.
The LTC pledge commits them to co-investing each 50% of Sidorov’s own stake in a single project.
Given that Sidorov and his fellow club members are already invested in such blue chip stocks as Airbnb, DiDi, Revolut and Knotel, and sitting on a substantial profit at exit, there is no shortage of members willing to take the pledge.
Why Do We Think this Club Is Trumping Other Members’ Clubs Out There?
The founder’s rationale for setting it up is transparent: access VC funds and investment opportunities not available to single individuals for the purpose of generating a substantial return. The founder is a self-starter with a proven track record, tech intelligence and investment credibility, as well as being hugely personable.
The club is not only for profit but has a well-defined philanthropic agenda, in synch with its members’ own philanthropic interests ( Natalia Vodianova, supermodel turned leading philanthropist, is a member and a personal friend of Sidorov who is an active supporter of her Naked Heart Foundation).
It caters to its membership base wider interests.
It works with top end venture capital funds (Clear Ventures, Happiness, Target Global, Sequoia, Artis, Arch Ventures, Autotech and others, similar in stature).
Last and certainly not least, attending its events as a fully-fledged member offers access to a rarefied network of the kind of individuals that quite simply make the world turn round.