

EUVC
EUVC
The home of European tech.
Connecting the people, capital, and companies building Europe.
Conversations with the investors, founders, and operators shaping the continent.
Connecting the people, capital, and companies building Europe.
Conversations with the investors, founders, and operators shaping the continent.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 4, 2023 • 48min
E253 | NEUVC | Mari Luukkainen of Icebreaker VC on building brand in venture with VC Mari Luukkainen, Principal at Icebreaker VC
Mari Luukkainen, Principal at Icebreaker VC, discusses building a personal brand in venture capital. Topics include developing your personal brand, transitioning to startup growth, consistency in content creation, and attracting founders at the pre-founder stage. Also, the importance of emotional support in startups, transferring writing skills to investment, and shifting from operator to coach in VC.

9 snips
Dec 1, 2023 • 48min
EUVC #252: Fred Destin on his decision to pause on venture in honest conversation with Joe Schorge
Former VC giant, Fred Destin, discusses his decision to pause on venture capital and his journey of personal introspection. They explore the rise of new VC funds, the challenges of running a firm and raising funds, and the importance of self-awareness and humility in the industry. They also touch on the value of personal growth, trust, and transparency, as well as the challenges and opportunities brought by AI and new technology waves.

Nov 30, 2023 • 51min
Announcing our investment into First Momentum Ventures Fund II 🤖
In this podcast, the hosts announce their investment into First Momentum Ventures and discuss their mission of backing deeply technical companies. They also address criticism regarding their young age as venture capitalists. The podcast covers topics such as fund performance, their scout program, investments in climate tech and precision machine part production, and the potential of OpenAI in deep tech investments.

Nov 28, 2023 • 50min
EUVC #250: Ondrej Bartos, Founder of Credo on Building A Venture Firm with A Lasting Legacy
Ondrej Bartos, Founder of Credo Ventures, talks about the challenges of being an entrepreneur and VC, collaboration vs competition among VCs, the transformative power of success, and the importance of passion and hard work. They also discuss co-investing, building towards a franchise, failures and learnings in building a venture firm, and the significance of testing and embracing failure in venture capital.

Nov 23, 2023 • 50min
Announcing our investment into Satgana Fund I & an established portfolio at 4.2x 📈
Satgana is a Climate Tech Venture Capital firm with an established portfolio at 4.2x MOIC, looking to support purpose-driven entrepreneurs in Europe and Africa. They discuss their investment in Satgana Fund I and their community-focused approach. The podcast also covers topics such as the challenge and opportunity of climate change, building a pre-seed climate fund, investment verticals, addressing methane leaks in the energy sector, Y Combinator's impact on startups, and non-dilutive funding in Europe.

Nov 21, 2023 • 49min
EUVC #248: Ben Topor on Growth & Secondaries Investing & The Beauty of Flexible Mandates
Ben Topor, Founder & Managing Partner at Titan Capital, talks about growth and secondaries investing. Topics include the future of European venture capital, the importance of solving a pressing need, timing the market and spreading bets, finding bargains in the secondary market, and flexible investment approaches.

Nov 16, 2023 • 57min
EUVC #247: Colin Daymond Hanna, Balderton on purpose, empathy and prioritization
Today we have Colin Daymond Hanna with us. Colin is a Partner at Balderton. And I think it goes without saying that I need not introduce this firm; but just in case anyone listening in has just started in venture, I’ll say that in the two decades since Balderton’s founding, they have worked with hundreds of extraordinary European founders, and have raised eight funds totalling more than 3bn Euros.At Balderton, Colin invests in purpose-driven, product-focused founders spanning verticals including Cloud, Consumer, Crypto, and Fintech. Colin has led the investments into Fuse Energy (formerly Tesseract), Ory, Supernormal, AnyType, Clue (note: the links go to Balderton’s annoucements, interesting reading!). Colin is also part of the team at Balderton responsible for driving the firm's Sustainable Future Goals initiatives.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction to Colin Daymon Hannah00:02:54 - Growing up in Asia & the US and transitioning to venture00:07:28 - Taking a Leap of Faith to Berlin00:09:51 - The Role of Luck in Decision Making00:12:05 - Prioritization and Communication00:14:27 - Balderton's Purpose as a Partner for European Entrepreneurs00:16:38 - Clue: Empowering Women's Health00:18:56 - The Local First Mentality and Censorship Resistance00:21:31 - Lack of Empathy in VC and Overstretching00:23:40 - Importance of Investor Alignment 00:26:03 - On Purpose and Prioritization00:28:35 - Prioritization & Portfolio Management 00:30:49 - Transparency in Investing00:32:54 - Building Networks with Investors00:35:10 - The Importance of Strong Communication and Vulnerability00:37:17 - Communication and Gratitude00:39:12 - How Sports Shape Your Path00:41:31 - The Importance of Trusting the Process00:44:01 - Transparency in Achieving Global Goals00:46:07 - Investing in companies aligned with SDGs00:48:32 - Express Championing of Positive Externalities00:50:26 - Tips for Emerging VCs in Europe00:52:46 - Focusing on the Purpose, Not the Valuation

Nov 15, 2023 • 1h 5min
E246 | EUVC | Key Insights on The State of the Secondaries Market & How To Win
If there's any market that's not slowing down, it's the secondaries market. And it’s a buyer’s market. But how do you win? We convened some of Europe's best secondaries investors to discuss the current market and how to build your investment strategy, evaluate opportunities and negotiate deals.Expert Secondaries Panelists:- Joe Schorge, Founding Partner of Isomer Capital- Kemper Ahl, Vice President of Industry Ventures- Martijn de Wever, CEO & Founder of FlowwGo to eu.vc for the write up of our key learnings and as well as the video recording 👀 Chapters:00:00:00 - Welcome to the roundtable and introductions00:03:02 - Solving Pain Points in the Private Markets00:11:29 - The Rise of Venture Secondaries00:14:20 - Creating a Systemic Approach00:20:07 - The Need for Innovation in the Market00:23:00 - Liquidity Solutions and the Secondaries Market00:25:43 - The Evolution of Intermediaries in the Market00:28:26 - Creative structuring for late-stage investments00:33:59 - Bridging the Gap in Due Diligence for New Investors00:39:14 - Tactics for Dealing in Secondary Market00:41:51 - The Platform Approach to Venture Secondaries00:44:35 - Timing the Market vs. Timing the Asset00:47:19 - Negotiating a Secondary Transaction00:53:00 - Strategies for Buying into Pre-IPO Companies01:01:13 - Experts needed for private Capital markets

Nov 15, 2023 • 38min
EUVC #245: Max Bautin of IQ Capital on Investing in DeepTech, the Cambridge Mafia and the Cambridge ecosystem
Max Bautin, Founding GP at IQ Capital, discusses the Cambridge Mafia in venture investing and the success of the Cambridge ecosystem. He also explores the strategy and challenges of deep tech investing and the role of advisors. The podcast highlights the thriving Cambridge ecosystem in Europe and the delicate balance of patience and impatience in entrepreneurship.

Nov 13, 2023 • 37min
E244 | NEUVC | Martin Krag, byFounders on the journey to partner, firm culture and coaching courage
Welcome to the first episode of the special series NEUVC, hosted by Freddie Macpherson, analyst at Isomer Capital, and Linda Võeras, associate at Karma Ventures. Today we have Martin Krag with us. Martin is a partner at byFounders, a seed fund looking to back the best tech founders in the new Nordics. We spoke to Martin to hear how he rose to partner in four years, the firm culture and coaching the courage to do so, and, of course, his own secret sauce of excellence.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction of Martin & byFounders 00:01:52 - Incentive alignment and portfolio assistance00:03:24 - Joining a Startup Venture Capital Firm00:04:44 - The importance of decisiveness for VCs00:06:07 - Using Analysts for Understanding Spaces and Sectors00:07:43 - Progression and Responsibility Levels00:09:17 - The Importance of Curiosity and Quick Learning00:10:41 - Finding Focus and Prioritizing00:12:09 - Balancing Networking and Board Responsibilities00:13:35 - The Fluid Partnership with Founders and Career Development00:15:09 - Building a Strong Team and Defined Roles00:16:42 - Calibrating New Hires for Long-Term Aspirations00:18:04 - Transparency and Core Values in VC Industry00:19:39 - Career Progression and Future at the Fund00:21:18 - The Responsibility of Partners and Youngsters in Investment Decisions00:22:40 - Avoidable Mistakes made by Junior VC Team00:24:29 - Being Patient and Calibrating Before Making Decisions00:25:58 - The Perspective of a Poker Player-Investor00:27:30 - Dreaming with the Founders00:28:57 - Diversifying Experience in the VC Industry00:30:42 - Choosing between being a VC or Founder00:32:19 - The Challenges of Being a VC00:34:14 - Building a Fund and Firm00:36:15 - Experience and Bad Judgment


