EUVC

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast — where we go deep with the people shaping European venture.
Today, David sits down with Kristaps Ronis, Partner at ION Pacific, a global secondaries investor (HQ in LA, presence in Europe & Asia) focused on Series B+ tech and a specialty that’s getting hotter by the month: structured secondaries.

Kristaps runs ION Pacific’s European practice and has been with the firm since inception (2015). In this episode, he unpacks why DPI is king, why traditional “sell-the-shares” secondaries often fall short, and how structured deals can deliver liquidity without selling or signaling — all while preserving control and upside for GPs.

Whether you’re a GP under LP pressure, an LP looking for distributions, or a founder trying to understand what’s happening around your cap table, this one’s for you.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:55 – Who is ION Pacific? Global secondaries focused on B/C/D with a European practice led by Kristaps.

• 02:36 – What they do: Liquidity for venture via structured & traditional secondaries.

• 04:01 – Kristaps’ path: Latvia → Peking University → Hong Kong banking → co-founding ION Pacific.

• 06:05 – What are structured secondaries (in one line).

• 07:35 – Three big learnings in venture: lack of financial innovation, complex cap tables = silent killer, DPI is king.

• 10:48 – Early vs. later stage instruments — why complexity hits hard post-Series B.

• 17:16 – Why secondaries now (esp. in Europe): DPI pressure, awareness, more dedicated players.

• 21:09 – Continuation vehicles in Europe: “2025 is the year of the EU CV.”

• 23:31 – Where structured deals fit: liquidity without selling, pricing gaps, zero market signaling.

• 26:20 – “What’s the catch?” Educating LPs on partial upfront + future upside.

• 28:05 – Advice for GPs & LPs: how to open the liquidity conversation.

• 29:53 – Solving the bid–ask spread: structure beats headline discounts.

• 31:27 – Co-investing: where others join (and where they don’t).

• 32:26 – The market gap: too big for small PE secondaries, too small for mega funds — ION’s sweet spot.

• 35:55 – Timing: don’t start in year 11 of a 10+2 fund; think 6–9 months ahead.

• 36:58 – Seller mistakes: timing, portfolio prep, governance blockers, LP comms.

• 40:23 – Good news for emerging managers: relationships can reopen info rights.

• 43:37 – Kristaps’ bookshelf: The One Thing, Getting to Neutral, Buy Back Your Time.

• 45:23 – How to reach Kristaps: LinkedIn + email; open to being a sounding board.

Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward.

Today we dive into the world of gaming with Alper Oner, Co-founder of Agave Games, and Enis Hulli, General Partner at e2vc. Agave has taken the gaming world by storm with its hit “Find the Cat” — a quirky hidden-object game that has become a global revenue driver, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in daily revenue. But this wasn’t a straight line: Agave started as a publisher, pivoted into building games in-house, and is now raising big rounds to expand with its new hit “What the Hex.”

Agave has taken the gaming world by storm with its hit “Find the Cat” — a quirky hidden-object game that climbed global charts, hitting tens of thousands of dollars in daily revenue and inspiring a wave of imitators. But the road here was far from linear: Agave began as a publisher, pivoted to a studio model, and has since raised an $18M Series A led by Baldur’s Gate Capital, Felicis, and e2vc to fuel its next big title — “What the Hex.”

Together, Enis and Alper unpack how to back founders over ideas, pivot at the right time, and scale when metrics explode — all while explaining why Turkey has quietly become Europe’s mobile gaming superpower.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:10 Introduction: Andreas sets the stage with Alper (Agave) & Enis (E2VC), and why Turkey is Europe’s gaming powerhouse.

• 05:00 Origins: Alper’s pivot from San Francisco data science to mobile gaming, founding Agave with high school friends.

• 10:00 Publisher Model Pivot: Why Agave started as a publisher, why the space saturated, and how they decided to build games in-house.

• 15:00 Betting on Founders: Enis on why pivots are inevitable, and why VCs back founders over ideas.

• 20:00 Turkey’s Gaming Wave: From Peak Games to 80+ new studios, how the ecosystem multiplies talent and capital.

• 25:00 Cracking the Code: How “Find the Cat” scaled from intuition to top charts, with ROAS and retention metrics off the charts.

• 30:00 The Cat Effect: Why cats trend globally, the copycats that followed, and why Agave resists “reskinning.”

• 35:00 What the Hex: Agave’s next title in the booming sorting genre, its differentiating mechanics, and early fan addiction stories.

• 40:00 Raising $18M: How Agave closed its Series A with Baldur’s Gate Capital, Felicis, and E2VC, and why they chose speed over maximum valuation.

• 45:00 Lessons Learned: Alper on vision-setting before execution, Enis on prorata strategy, and why gaming is Pixar, not SaaS.

• 50:00 Future of Gaming: Will the industry move towards blockbusters or niches, and why agility across multiple titles is now key.

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast, where we gather Europe’s venture family to share the stories, insights, and lessons that drive our ecosystem forward.

Today we zoom in on the inner game with Seb Agertoft, former product leader turned executive coach and Partner at Evolution, a collective of ~80 coaching and leadership-development partners across the US and Europe. Seb works primarily with VC-backed founders, co-founding teams, and leadership teams. Joining me is Mike Reiner (432 Legacy), who’s helping us bring more conversations like this to light. We dig into what real coaching is (and isn’t), how product experience helps without turning coaching into advice, why founders need the right kind of stubbornness, and how slowing down actually improves performance.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 01:30 From product career to coaching founders

• 02:10 Why Seb: product depth + coaching depth; what we’ll explore with Mike.

• 02:46 Seb’s path: eBay → GoCardless → Pelago Health → full-time coaching; joining Evolution’s partner collective.

• 04:13 Switching from product to coaching: motivated by people, team-building, and reducing avoidable waste in tech.

• 06:46 Personal thread: yoga training, teaching meditation, and blending “human development” with tech.

• 07:46 What coaching is (and isn’t): non-directive, developmental; the “I/We/It” frame; support vs. challenge.

• 10:50 Using product experience without slipping into advice; building trust to go deep and tactical.

• 17:26 Mike on the investor’s role: supporting the person, not just the metrics; presence, somatics, and listening.

• 24:39 Alignment & diligence: picking founders for the journey they actually want (and can) live.

• 25:54 Slow down to speed up: cadence, space, and performance (not “softness”).

• 28:12 Trauma can drive—and derail; purpose/servitude as a more sustainable fuel.

• 33:58 “Double goals”: it’s okay to build for self and service; lessen attachment to outcomes.

• 40:20 The “right kind” of stubborn: high conviction and curiosity; avoid playbook worship.

• 43:40 Balancing conviction and openness: an anecdote on resisting “quick money” detours.

• 47:58 Demystifying “spirituality”: meaning-making, connection, and time-tested practices.

Welcome back to another episode of Upside at the EUVC Podcast, where ⁠Dan Bowyer⁠,⁠ Mads Jensen⁠ of ⁠SuperSeed⁠, ⁠Lomax Ward⁠ of ⁠Outsized Ventures⁠ and ⁠Andrew J Scott⁠ of ⁠7percent Ventures⁠, and Lomax unpack the forces shaping European venture capital.

This week’s conversation spans the spectrum, from AI moratoriums and political overreach to funding freezes, LP pullbacks, and the question of whether Europe still dares to dream big.

The crew digs into whether regulation is protecting society or suffocating innovation, the chilling effect of capital retreat, and how optimism can be rebuilt amid macro fatigue.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered

• 00:41 – The “AI Pause” Debate — Can governments ever pause technology? Why moratoriums sound moral but stall momentum.

• 05:25 – Europe’s Fear Reflex — The rise of “safety-first” politics and how overregulation is quietly killing risk appetite.

• 09:57 – LP Freeze Frame — Europe’s institutional capital dries up as funds extend cycles — why secondaries and NAV loans are back in fashion.

• 13:36 – The Optimism Deficit — How founders are stuck between doomist media and cautious investors, and why conviction is now a superpower.

• 17:59 – Policy Paralysis — The mismatch between innovation speed and Brussels process — can Europe’s bureaucracy ever run at startup pace?

• 22:44 – The Deep Tech Divergence — Climate tech, quantum, and AI hardware get hot — but early checks are scarcer than ever.

• 27:32 – Founders as Statesmen — Why European founders must now act as ambassadors for progress — defending the right to build.

• 32:18 – The Politics of Optimism — Why Europe’s next unicorns will be built by those who ignore the headlines and build through doubt.

• 37:20 – AI Regulation & Reality — The EU AI Act’s new interpretive layer — compliance theater vs. competitive advantage.

• 42:48 – The Great European Reset — Why this downturn might finally force quality, discipline, and depth into the ecosystem.

This week on the EUVC Podcast, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Sebastian Peck, Partner at KOMPAS VC, Europe’s leading specialist in industrial tech and the decarbonisation of manufacturing and the built world.

KOMPAS VC is an early- and growth-stage venture capital firm backed by leading corporates, focused on transforming how the world builds, moves, and powers itself. With offices in London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, KOMPAS partners with startups and industrial leaders driving efficiency, automation, and decarbonisation across sectors like manufacturing, construction, energy, and mobility.

With the firm gearing up for major announcements, Sebastian unpacks why industrial tech is finally having its moment in European VC — and why resilience, regulation, and risk appetite will determine whether Europe leads or lags.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:20 Defining Industrial Tech - Decarbonisation, productivity, and resilience: the three pillars driving transformation in Europe’s industrial base.

• 03:30 The Energy Debate: Transition vs pragmatism, nuclear’s comeback, and Europe vs US vs China

• 09:14 Fragmented Corporate Commitments: Nordics doubling down, US ambivalence, China scaling renewables fast

• 11:21 AI in Industrial Tech: From power-hungry models to agentic AI: where real productivity gains are emerging and what’s still hype.

• 16:02 Robotics: Hype vs. reality: Why humanoid robots won’t take over factories (yet) — and where automation truly moves the needle.

• 21:57 Adoption Hurdles: Why industrial tech moves slower than SaaS, and how smart VCs help bridge the gap between pilots and production.

• 24:37 AI & Jobs: Creative destruction or just destruction? How Europe, the US, and China are charting radically different paths.

• 33:18 Regulation: Europe’s protective instinct: how the EU’s AI Act balances innovation with oversight - for better and for worse.

• 40:27 Startups × Corporates: Why pilots fail, and how KOMPAS VC brokers real commercial traction

• 44:48 KOMPAS VC Fund II: New bets, Makersite’s standout Series B, and how the firm is deepening its industrial tech thesis.

• 45:54 Specialist vs Generalist VCs: Why Europe needs deep domain VCs working alongside generalist syndicates to build lasting industry platforms.

• 48:52 Magic Wand Policy: Pension capital reform and risk appetite as Europe’s bottlenecks

• 51:09 It’s Not Founders, it’s the Ecosystem: Employees, customers, regulators, and LPs — everyone needs to lean in if Europe is to lead.

Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

Today we’re joined by Lucanus Polagnoli (Founding Partner & CEO) and Stephanie Urbanski (Managing Director) of Calm/Storm — a specialist early-stage fund backing software-only digital health across Europe. Fresh off the close of Fund II, we dive into how they’ve evolved from a solo-GP experiment into a community-powered platform, why they keep the scope digital-only, and how they navigate regulation, AI and the post-COVID reality without losing the plot.

🎯 This Episode’s Themes

• Same, same — but sharper: Fund II doubles down on pre-seed/seed, software-only digital health, with bigger checks and higher ownership.

• Community as a product: 60+ “supporting partners” and 110+ LPs powering 100+ co-invests — founder-to-founder help on demand.

• Specialist by design: Why digital health (no molecules, no hardware) lets a small fund move fast and add tangible value.

• Regulation ≠ roadblock: In health, approvals can protect moats — if you have the patience and the cash plan.

• AI without the buzzwords: Companion to clinicians, not a replacement; curated, longitudinal data beats generic LLM advice.

• Europe’s moment (still): Later-stage money does show up now; e-prescriptions and rails are here; US health is just as complex.

• Logo gravity matters: Follow-on quality (Sequoia, Balderton, Creandum et al.) is the strongest portfolio predictor.

⏱️ Here’s what’s covered

• 00:24 | Names & origins - how to say “Polagnoli” (and why words matter)

• 01:24 | Fund II - same stage/sector/geo; larger tickets (€400–500k initial), higher ownership, co-lead when conviction is high

• 03:30 | Supporting partners - 60+ founder-operators + LPs as an on-call help network

• 05:45 | Why Calm/Storm - the gap they saw in 2019; launching Feb 5, 2020, right before the pandemic wave

• 08:52 | Post-COVID reality - rails stayed (e-scripts, digital flows), tourists left; real followers now fund B/C rounds in Europe

• 11:08 | Longevity & prevention - out-of-pocket willingness, AI unlocking insights from dormant data

• 13:21 | Team split - Stefanie’s operator engine + community execution; Lucanus on strategy and navigation

• 16:10 | Why digital-only - software speed, small teams, low capex; pass on molecules/hardware for fund construction reasons

• 22:45 | Regulation as moat - ThinkSono’s 8-year climb on DVT ultrasound automation; Europe vs. US complexity myths

• 26:44 | AI in health - pattern recognition, prep and triage; risks of generic LLMs for personal diagnosis

• 31:10 | Adoption & incentives - public vs. private delivery, prevention economics, and Europe’s risk-capital bottleneck

• 36:26 | Where AI wins first - curated data, longitudinal monitoring, workflow copilots; the missing top-10 health app

• 42:58 | Community receipts - burnout averted, board-level engagements, LPs turning co-investors

• 45:27 | Portfolio & follow-ons - Nelly, Lindus, 9am Health; why “who picks you up” predicts outcomes

• 48:56 | Exit math & fund design - earlier liquidity via M&A/secondaries; co-lead over “winner-takes-all”; stay early-stage by choice

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where our good friends Dan Bowyer, Mads Jensen, Lomax Ward, and Andrew Beebe (Managing Director at Obvious Ventures) dig into the headlines shaping Europe’s venture, policy, and tech future.

This week, the crew dives deep into automation and AI’s real-world impact:
Amazon’s plans to replace half a million jobs with robots, the question of whether AI can truly spark a new industrial revolution in Europe, the UK’s new AI sandbox experiment, and an update on the long-awaited 28th Regime—the EU’s bid for a unified startup entity.

They also unpack China’s automation surge, Europe’s productivity crisis, and whether policy and politics are keeping pace with the technology curve.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered

00:24 Amazon’s Robot Push - Replacing 500,000+ jobs with automation — what it means for Europe’s workforce and competitiveness.

05:26 Automation & Employment - Europe’s 31M manufacturing workers, Germany’s 80% robotized auto sector, and whether job “shifts” beat displacement.

09:37 Productivity & Policy Tension - Can Europe keep up as Asia deploys 70% of new industrial robots? And how do we balance growth with labor protection?

16:00 AI’s Second Industrial Revolution - John Thornhill’s “Industrial Revolution 2.0” thesis — does Europe have the institutional capacity to absorb and profit from AI?

21:24 Enterprise AI Failure Modes - Why 50–75% of AI implementations flop — and why it’s a skills and structure problem, not a tech one.

26:05 White Collar Co-Pilots - AI as enabler, not replacer — from doctors to lawyers — and why the change must happen at human speed.

28:00 China’s Lead & Europe’s Complacency - China’s robot factories, biotech dominance, and why European policymakers “don’t feel the fire.”

34:15 Politics & Technocracy - Why Europe needs tech-literate leaders before the next wave of disruption turns social.

38:00 UK’s AI Sandbox - A new initiative to let startups test AI in the wild — but is it another FCA-style fix or a token gesture?

41:30 AI in the NHS - Where regulatory sandboxes could actually work — in diagnostics, admin automation, and cutting waiting lists.

48:00 EU’s 28th Regime - A pan-European startup entity proposal — regulation vs. directive, and whether it can fix the admin drag across borders.

55:00 The German Bottleneck - How 200+ local laws still choke innovation — and why fixing Germany alone could free €800M+ annually.

59:00 Deal of the Week: CoalMine - Plural backs UK brain-computer interface startup CoalMine with a $102M Series A — Europe’s Neuralink moment.

Welcome back to another EUVC Podcast, where we explore the lessons, frameworks, and insights shaping Europe’s venture ecosystem.

Today’s episode marks a major milestone for Notion Capital - the launch of its new Growth Fund, designed to back Europe’s most ambitious B2B software founders beyond Series B.

Today, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Stephen Chandler, Jessica Bartos, formerly of Salesforce Ventures, and Stephanie Opdam, both key leaders at Notion’s growth fund. They discuss how Notion approaches growth-stage investments, the importance of founder quality, AI trends, enterprise go-to-market excellence, and the global ambitions of European startups.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:28 Jessica’s background & lessons from Salesforce Ventures — 15 years in deal-making, AI and enterprise software investments, and applying those lessons to Europe.

• 02:54 Founder quality & endurance — How Notion supports founders over long journeys and ensures they can scale their vision.

• 05:58 AI and incumbents — Insights on how AI is reshaping enterprise software and the competitive landscape, and why product-market fit remains central.

• 07:39 Portfolio vs external opportunities — How Notion benchmarks internal portfolio companies while capturing external growth opportunities.

• 08:53 Diligence at growth stage — Evaluating ARR quality, retention, repeatability, product-market fit, and team execution.

• 13:30 Exit strategy considerations — Planning for IPOs, secondary markets, and liquidity while staying aligned with founders’ long-term vision.

• 15:19 European companies and US markets — Why listing in the US does not make a company “less European” and the importance of global scale.

• 17:17 Fund evolution & multi-stage strategy — Stephanie reflects on moving from venture to growth, leveraging internal ecosystem insights, and building top-performing funds.

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

Today, we’re joined by Alexandre Mars, the French entrepreneur and philanthropist behind Blisce, one of Europe’s pioneering B Corp-certified venture funds. From bootstrapping his first business at 17 to building and selling multiple startups across Europe and the US, Alexander has seen both sides of the entrepreneurial journey — the grind and the freedom.

In this conversation, we explore his evolution from founder to impact investor, the trade-offs between wealth and purpose, the challenge of defining “impact” in venture capital, and why Europe’s next tech era will depend on bridging public policy, capital, and purpose.

• 00:19 | Welcome & Origin Story — From a 17-year-old entrepreneur to serial founder and philanthropist
• 02:37 | Freedom Redefined — What “no boss” really means when clients become your new one
• 05:44 | Sacrifice & Grind — Why success without discipline doesn’t exist
• 08:12 | From Founder to Investor — The transition from building to backing
• 11:03 | Birth of Blisce — From family office to impact VC
• 13:32 | Series A to B Sweet Spot — Why Blisce focuses on post-revenue scale-ups
• 15:08 | Returns & Responsibility — Outperforming funds while doing good
• 17:21 | The Problem with Defining Impact — Why dogma kills nuance
• 21:05 | Europe vs. US — Risk, failure, and ambition across cultures
• 25:47 | The Role of Tech in Society — Investing with purpose, not just profit
• 28:19 | Sovereignty & Scale — Europe’s AI and data independence moment
• 31:02 | Policy & Venture — Why investors can’t stay silent in the public debate
• 34:29 | Paris as a Rising Hub — Why France is building something real this time

This week, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Matti Rönkkö, Managing Director of Kiilto Ventures, the venture arm of Finnish family-owned Kiilto.

From Rocket Internet to running a corporate-backed, family-owned venture arm, Matti shares how Kiilto Ventures blends family capital, industry know-how, and VC pace to back startups in the sustainable built environment. They dive into portfolio examples, CVC vs VC dynamics, co-investing with generalists, and why superior product performance at price parity is the only path forward in climate and construction tech.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:30 – Cold open & setup: why this is a “CVC episode”

• 01:00 – Who is Matti? From Rocket Internet & scale-ups to Kiilto Ventures

• 02:00 – What is Kiilto Ventures: mandate, geography, and ownership model

• 04:56 – CVC, VC, or family office? Matti’s “best-of-all-worlds” answer

• 07:30 – How Kiilto’s mothership helps: labs, chemists, and customer intros

• 10:44 – Rocket Internet lessons: speed, scale, and culture

• 18:12 – The built environment’s big four problems: carbon, circularity, health, inefficiency

• 20:25 – Portfolio snapshots: Recoma, Nobody Engineering, Acembee

• 24:21 – Co-investing & partnerships: specialists + generalists, and when offtakes make sense

• 37:27 – Macro & climate politics: why only price-parity products will win