Double Down or Walk Away: Instacart, Unicorn Portfolios, and Southeast Asia’s Exit Problem - E602

"I always tell people, emerging VCs are like founders—they build a company from scratch. When building a first fund, you plan to design your thesis: do I make 20 investments or 40? Do I invest in a certain geography? Do I invest in America? Do I invest in Hong Kong startups? There’s a bunch of thesis work. Then you do fundraising, pitch people to put money in the fund, close the fund, get everybody to wire the money, and manage your relations with the LP over time. Now they understand the whole unicorn structure of it. The LPs provide about $99 million, and the GPs provide about $1 million. The VC will earn about 2% of this million for 10 years." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast

Jeremy Au breaks down the hidden math behind venture capital: why only a few startups matter, how VCs double down or walk away, and what real exits look like. Using the case of Instacart and Southeast Asia IPOs like SEA, Grab, and GoTo, he explains what separates paper value from cash returns, and why timing is everything.