Backing the Rails, Not the Hype

In latest blog Igor Burlakov lays out the thesis behind our Liquidity Strategy: the best infrastructure businesses compound for a long time — and increasingly, they do it while staying private. 

As companies remain private for longer, secondaries have become a mainstream way to provide liquidity to founders, early employees, and early backers — without forcing premature exits or short-term decision-making. 

At Verb Ventures, we define “infrastructure” simply: it’s a foundational layer customers can’t operate without. And that definition shapes how we underwrite later-stage opportunities — focusing on durability, retention, and real embeddedness over narrative momentum. 

Our late-stage filter is precise:

  • True infrastructure (a foundational layer, not a feature)
  • Structural demand (benefits from complexity/regulation/globalisation, not fads)
  • Visible quality (retention, unit economics, operational maturity)
  • Sensible entry (clear rationale for seller + price)
  • Open-ended futures (multiple paths to liquidity over time) 

The article also shares how we typically participate (company-sponsored tenders / structured secondaries), and why we think this approach creates alignment — giving long-duration businesses the patient runway they need, while solving a real human liquidity problem inside great companies. 

Full story: https://medium.com/verb-ventures/backing-the-rails-not-the-hype-544de37ab175