The Seed Investing Playbook

AFTER 16 YEARS, I left my role running capital markets in Asia for a European investment bank. I had spent my entire career in derivatives, eventually running all public markets of a European investment bank in Asia. But when it came time to invest my own money, I invested in private deals.

I started Monte Carlo Capital in 2009 with a simple idea: that I could achieve significantly better returns by investing privately - by identifying, backing, and helping shape the trajectory of early-stage tech companies. Over the years, this personal conviction evolved into a venture capital firm, backing some of the most disruptive startups across the U.S. and Europe.

But the philosophy remains unchanged: if you want to participate in the future, you need to invest at the beginning of it. And that’s why I believe every UHNWI should be building a portfolio of seed-stage investments. Not later-stage venture. Not growth equity. Seed.

Given that we invest across the U.S. and Europe, I could have been based anywhere. But as a Monegasque - living in a place with an exceptional concentration of entrepreneurs and UHNWIs - returning to Monaco was an obvious choice.

Let me explain why.

Wealth today is being created by entrepreneurs - not by public markets or traditional institutions. This is no longer a theory; it’s a fact supported by data. According to the latest PitchBook figures, seed funds consistently outperform later-stage funds. Average IRRs for seed funds hover around 25%, compared to 13% for Series B and beyond.

This isn’t just about lower entry valuations. It reflects a deeper truth: value creation today happens early and happens privately. The best companies are staying private longer, capturing more of their growth before listing. By the time they reach the public markets, in most instances, the most explosive gains have already accrued to early investors.

If you’re only investing in public markets, you’re not just arriving late - you’re missing the party entirely.

There’s a common myth that we’re nearing the end of technological disruption - that we’ve already seen the major shifts with the internet, AI or biotech. But in truth, we are just getting started.

Civilization is a blink in the context of planetary time. The pyramids were built only 5,000 years ago. A century ago, life expectancy was dramatically lower. Electricity was not universal. Flight was still a novelty.

If you could travel back 100 years and describe your life today - real-time video calls, robotic surgery, AI assistants - you’d be seen as having divine powers. Now imagine your great-great-grandchildren doing the same to you, a century from now.

The pace of change is exponential. Entire industries will be redefined. Some will vanish. Trillions in value will be created. Blue chip legacy companies will disappear. Stock market gyrations, geopolitics, and inflation are not changing any of this. This is one of strongest investment trends of our lifetime. The only way to be part of that future is to invest in it early, at seed.

I sometimes hear that seed investing is risky. But let me ask you this: what’s truly riskier - backing a portfolio of early-stage companies solving major global problems, or sitting on idle cash in an inflationary world? Holding cash guarantees loss. Public markets are increasingly erratic, driven by sentiment and noise, and offer little edge. Seed investing, when done right, generates strong long-term returns and aligns your capital with where the world is heading.

It’s not risky - it’s illiquid and long term. And I would argue that not being involved is the real risk. In a world being reshaped by accelerating technology, staying on the sidelines means falling behind.

What seed investing requires is a structured, disciplined approach. I’ve spent years developing a strategy designed to mitigate risks and maximize returns. It’s built on one core principle: focus on what you can control, in order to manage what you can’t.

When I started investing at seed, I did it personally. Over time, I began leading syndicates, bringing other investors into the best opportunities I could find. I’ve now led around 50 seed syndicates as a lead investor - often leading multiple rounds in the same company as they scale.

This hands-on approach means we still hold significant stakes in companies that are at growth stage. Most angel investors get diluted away. We stay involved. We help. We bring in follow-on capital. And we grow with our portfolio.

I’ve also engaged deeply in the broader venture ecosystem - teaching venture capital to MBA students, and serving on the board of EBAN, the Brussels-based European trade association representing 10,000+ business angels. (I won an award as best European Angel Investor from it.)

When we institutionalized with our fund, we did so with the same DNA. Our LPs are UHNWIs and family offices who understand the power of compounding and the importance of long-term thinking.

Seed investing is not a trend. It’s not a niche. It’s the foundation of all future wealth creation.

We’re living through a profound shift - technological, economical, and generational. Capital follows the power law. A few companies will generate the lion’s share of returns. And those companies? They all start at seed.

If you want to be early, if you want to be relevant, and if you want to outperform - you need to be at the table when the future is being written. That table is called seed investing.

By Ian Sosso

Contributor