Draper Esprit — a publicly traded venture capital (VC) firm — is in the news again. TechCrunch just published a piece titled “Why Draper Esprit doubled down on its status as a publicly listed VC.” Here’s a snippet of what Draper Esprit co-founder Stuart Chapman had to say:
The one thing I would say about Draper Esprit is that we are trying to be innovative. It shocks me that venture capital backs some of the most mind-blowing tech advances in our history over the last 70 years using the same legal structure as a 1958 property vehicle in New York. I don’t get it! Surely, we can reinvent and push ourselves forward as much as we push our entrepreneurs.
If you’re interested in getting some VC exposure in your traditional brokerage accounts, I recommend giving the article a read. I presented Draper Esprit to members of Crypto Asset Strategies a few years back, and its value has doubled since then. (I presented it in a crypto service because Draper Esprit is one of the largest investors in Ledger, the crypto hardware wallet maker.)
The Draper Esprit fund trades on the over-the-counter (OTC) market under GRWXF and on the London exchange under GROW.L. The OTC listing is not very liquid, so don’t try to invest large amounts into it. If you’re looking to make a purchase, I recommend buying the London-listed shares.
I think Draper Esprit is worthy of a small allocation if we get a decent pullback. There aren’t many publicly traded VCs in the world, and I like the fund’s portfolio quite a bit. Take a look at its investments if you’re curious. One of the most interesting companies is Revolut, a digital-first “challenger bank.” This is an extremely fast-growing private fintech bank, and Draper Esprit is the only way I know of to invest in it.