Our next guest is Gloria Bauerlein, founder and general partner at Puzzle Ventures. Puzzle Ventures is a new pan-European 21.5 million euro fund investing in super early stage B2B companies, and it's one of the solo female GP led funds. Before Puzzle, Gloria was a prolific angel investor, but that's not why we're speaking with her today. Uniquely, she has actually sat on all sides of the cap table. As an investment banker, as a VC at TCV and Index, as startup operator at Kry and Back, and as a prolific angel investor. And now, she’s built Puzzle to take her backing of Europe's top founders to the next level with larger checks but with the flexibility of an angel.

A testament to Gloria's prowess is her esteemed list of Limited Partners – seasoned founders and operators from renowned brands such as Kry, Stripe, Coinbase, and WhatsApp. These stalwarts not only fuel Puzzle Ventures with capital but also empower its portfolio with invaluable insights and a network that can catapult startups to stratospheric heights.

In our 188th episode, Sabina Wizander from Creandum dedicated her shout-out to Gloria - hear what she had to say below (spoiler: big words are used!)

Jump to the parts that matter to you 👀

00:00:00 - Introduction to Puzzle Ventures 00:01:33 - Creating a Culture of Giving in VC00:03:08 - Gloria's Journey in Venture Capital00:04:51 - Finding Passion in the Workplace00:07:46 - From Curiosity to Puzzle Ventures00:09:21 - Learning from Risk Takers and Energy00:11:04 - Focusing on What You're Good At00:12:29 - Understanding the Persona Drives00:14:15 - Angel Investing Journey00:15:41 - The Journey of Puzzle Ventures00:17:06 - Filling the Gap in the Market00:18:38 - Raising Funds for Investment Strategy00:20:14 - Optimizing for Entrepreneurs and Collaboration00:21:44 - Pulling Me In: Being a Trusted Advisor00:23:17 - How a Fundraising Advisor Can Help Founders00:24:51 - The Importance of Board Relationships and Reserves00:26:24 - Importance of Ownership in Investment Funds00:27:54 - Prioritization and Managing Time00:29:27 - Fundraising Strategy and The Importance of Experienced Advisors00:32:31 - The Importance of Understanding Market Cycles00:34:15 - The Importance of Experienced LPs in Venture Capital00:35:55 - Building a Strong Fund Network00:37:38 - The Role of Luck in a Career00:39:25 - Creating Conditions for Luck and Serendipity

This episode was kindly made possible by our friends over at Tactyc - the leading forecasting and scenario-planning software for venture capital funds combining portfolio construction, portfolio management, forecasting and reporting into a unified platform.

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