In today’s episode, we explore the intricacies of investing in the United States with two remarkable guests who bring decades of experience in venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Sheel Mohnot

Sheel Mohnot is a renowned venture capitalist and fintech entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and General Partner at Better Tomorrow Ventures (BTV), a venture capital firm specializing in pre-seed and seed-stage fintech startups. BTV’s portfolio boasts notable investments in companies like Flexport, Mercury, and Hippo Insurance. Prior to founding BTV, Sheel honed his expertise through various ventures, including co-founding FeeFighters, a payments startup acquired by Groupon in 2012, and Innovative Auctions, which was sold in 2015.

Sheel’s journey also includes years at 500 Startups, where he led 500 Fintech, a sector-specific fund within the accelerator. He is well-known as a co-host of The Pitch Podcast, offering listeners a behind-the-scenes look at venture capital and startup funding. His early career with Kiva.org, a microfinance platform connecting lenders and borrowers worldwide, shaped his approach to fintech investments, emphasizing innovation and democratizing financial services.

Marvin Liao

Marvin Liao is an experienced venture capitalist, startup advisor, and mentor. He is best known for his role as a partner at 500 Startups, where he managed the San Francisco accelerator program and invested in over 400 startups across sectors such as fintech, SaaS, digital health, and IoT. His portfolio includes successes like Embroker, Eaze, and Shippo.

Before venturing into startups, Marvin held senior executive roles at Yahoo, managing teams across Asia, Europe, and Latin America. His extensive experience in business development, sales, and marketing positioned him as an expert in scaling digital businesses internationally. Today, Marvin continues investing through partnerships with GameGroove Capital and Diaspora Ventures, while mentoring startups and advising venture capital funds globally.

Join us as we dive into their insights on investing in the US, navigating early-stage startups, and the future of innovation in a globalized world.

Today we're talking all things deep tech and fusion energy with two incredible guests:

Francesco Sciortino, the co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, and Sebastian Pollok, the Founding Partner of Visionaries Club and TOMORROW who will share insights from their exceptional careers and the ground-breaking work their companies are doing.

Francesco is a visionary in the field of fusion energy, his research has brought him through some of the world's most prestigious institutions, including Imperial College, EPFL, Princeton, and MIT, where he completed his Ph.D. on fusion energy. His deep-rooted passion for clean and sustainable energy solutions led him to co-found Proxima Fusion. Proxima is the first fusion company to spin out of Germany’s revered Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, it has secured a €7.5M pre-seed round backed by Tomorrow, of which Rancilio Cube has invested in, as well as funds like Plural Platform and UVC Partners, to develop their "QI stellarator” a revolutionary fusion energy machine that aims to provide a future source of abundant, emissions-free power. Under his leadership, Proxima Fusion has grown into a team of around 30 engineers and physicists, dedicated to making continuous operation fusion energy a reality.

Sebastian Pollok is a trailblazer in the venture capital landscape, Sebastian is the Founding Partner of Visionaries Club, a venture capital fund that enjoys backing from some of the globe's most illustrious unicorn founders and family entrepreneurs in the B2B SaaS space. He recently launched TOMORROW, a fund that specializes in climate deep tech. Sebastian's entrepreneurial journey includes co-founding AMORELIE, which successfully exited in 2018. His commitment to fostering innovation extends to his role on the board of the German Startups Association, where he contributes to shaping the future of startups in Germany.

Our guests today are Manu Gupta and Margaret Wang. Manu is the Founding Partner of Blue Lion VC, a tech venture capital fund based in Los Angeles and London, backing founders that positively advance society. They focus on climate, health, and inclusive finance, investing Seed (~$500k - $1m) and Series A ($1.5m - $4m) across the US & Europe. 
 They have backed 15 unicorns resulting in two IPOs and over a dozen M&A sales. Nearly $425m has been invested into transformational companies such as Glovo and Revolut.

Margaret is CEO of Rhea Fertility, bringing the power of its integrated ecosystem of services, technology and partnerships to elevate end-to-end reproductive health journeys for intended parents globally. Their approach is ecosystem-first: global network of build/buy premium clinics - with the center of gravity in the massive and growing market across Asia - and technology platform that meaningfully engages patients, streamlines workflows and applies leading edge innovation like AI, machine learning and blockchain technologies to improve outcomes.

Robert is a social entrepreneur and the Chairman & Founder of TBLI (Triple Bottom Line Investing) Group.

TBLI Group is a renowned global network dedicated to sustainable finance and investment, empowering investors to achieve financial returns while making a positive social and environmental impact through our sustainable investment advisory services, sustainable investing education and events. They are specialized in impact investing, ESG investing, green bonds, climate finance, and responsible investment.

As an Impact & ESG hub, TBLI is committed to building a trusted community of social impact investors through education and networking. Their focus on self-interest, opportunity, and money flows has enabled them to communicate in a common language that resonates with their stakeholders, fostering authenticity, integrity, trust, connection, values, and a tribe of like-minded individuals.