EUVC

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

This time, we flip the mic:

, normally the host, steps into the hot seat in a conversation with

, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at

and an expert on entrepreneurial and innovation strategy.

In this episode, you’ll get the full backstory on Jeppe—from PwC to CFO at a pan-European fund,

, to building

s CVC arm, and now shaping Europe’s corporate VC landscape through the EU CVC podcast, newsletter, and summit.

They dive deep into how corporate venture works (and fails), why the immune system metaphor holds true, and what’s needed to build an ecosystem across Europe that actually delivers.

🎯 This Podcast’s Themes:

• From finance to strategy: Jeppe’s journey into venture
• Why CVC is more organ transplant than M&A
• How to survive 3 CEOs—and why you must
• Fund of funds vs. direct investing: what’s trending in corporate venture
• Building Europe’s corporate VC community: podcast, masterclasses, summits

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:00 | From Interviews to the Interviewee: Jeppe in the spotlight
• 02:00 | Auditor Turned VC: From PwC to CFO of a pan-European fund
• 04:30 | The Maersk Years: Strategy, innovation, and the “immune system”
• 07:00 | Organ Transplant Theory: Why CVCs often get rejected
• 10:00 | Newsletter to Podcast: Building the EU CVC platform
• 12:00 | The European Vision: A fragmented but collaborative ecosystem
• 14:00 | Strategic vs Financial Tension: Why most corporates are confused
• 16:00 | Global Case Studies: TDK Ventures, Woven Capital, Maersk Growth
• 21:00 | The Pivot Playbook: Survive, evolve, stay relevant
• 23:30 | How to Do CVC Right: From metrics to mindset
• 25:00 | Fund of Funds 101: What corporates need to know
• 27:00 | Advice to MBAs: Learn the craft, love the long game

In this episode,

sits down with

(IMD),

(Impact Hub), and Enrique Molina (CircularCo) to unpack the evolving world of circular venture. They dive into why circularity should be viewed as a horizontal investment lens — not a niche — and how startups across materials, manufacturing, and infrastructure are already proving out scalable models.

From textile dyeing to resale logistics and digital product passports, the group highlights how circularity intersects with every vertical and why now is the time for more GPs and LPs to get involved.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:50 – “We don’t invest in dumb things”: The Pale Blue Dot mindset
• 02:30 – Why current supply chains reward harm — and how venture can reverse it
• 04:30 – Startups vs. corporates: Who’s best positioned to drive change?
• 07:40 – 5 monetizable circular business model archetypes
• 12:10 – What infra is needed to scale circularity?
• 15:00 – Real-world startups & back-end enablers in resale, reuse & track-and-trace
• 18:00 – Circularity: Horizontal lens or vertical category?
• 23:00 – Where capital is flowing: Startups, funds & LPs getting serious
• 26:00 – Hype cycles: AI ascendant, circularity under the radar
• 28:00 – Building ecosystems: Infrastructure, co-opetition, and collective voice
• 31:00 – Final call: Why everyone — from founders to family offices — must engage

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Impact Highlight, where we bring you the people and perspectives pushing the boundaries of purpose-driven venture. This week,

sits down with

, Managing Director,

, and

, Co-founder & CEO of

, to explore how we unlock billions for climate action by rethinking the very architecture of venture capital.

Together, they dive into how Carbon Equity is turning everyday citizens into climate LPs, why “retail” doesn’t mean amateur, and how tech, transparency, and trust can finally bring impact investing to scale.

This episode’s themes:

• Why climate finance is stuck—and how we build new pipes
• Reimagining access: giving more people a seat at the capital table
• The rise of the prosumer LP: conviction, education, and agency
• Bridging alpha and impact without trade-offs
• Redesigning private markets for participation at scale

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:30 Jacqueline’s journey: from traditional VC to climate capital rebel
• 02:15 The climate capital gap: why only 2% of VC goes to climate tech
• 03:45 Institutional capital vs. bold innovation: the trust mismatch
• 05:30 Rethinking “retail”: building for a sophisticated next-gen LP
• 07:00 Tech as an enabler: onboarding, transparency, and scale
• 08:45 What private market investors need (and don’t get today)
• 10:00 Productizing the LP experience: clarity, ownership, conviction
• 11:45 How Carbon Equity builds education into capital deployment
• 13:00 The vision: mobilizing the masses without dumbing things down
• 14:30 Impact with returns: challenging the trade-off fallacy
• 16:00 What’s next: tokenisation, retail regulation, and unlocking access

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where we connect and champion the voices shaping European venture. Today, we spotlight

, Founding Partner at the

, to explore how a new generation of fund managers is reshaping Italy's startup landscape—and why deep empathy, focused strategy, and intentional market building are the foundation.

Lorenzo opens up about his journey from angel investor to institutional VC, shares insights on navigating Italy’s regulatory landscape, and explains why now is the time to believe in the Italian opportunity.

Here's what's covered:

• 02:00 Why Fund Strategy Starts With Empathy: How Lorenzo’s unique experience grounds his founder-first approach
• 05:15 The Thesis of Italian Founders Fund: A triad of Italy, diaspora, and inbound startups
• 08:10 Why There Are No Small Funds in Italy: Structural barriers and the missing middle
• 12:44 Data-Driven Support at Scale: Building productized VC operations
• 16:02 Market Maturation: Applying Foundamental's venture framework to Italy
• 19:00 Building an Edge through Focus: A concentrated portfolio with proximity-driven value
• 22:30 From Angels to Institutions: What the Italian startup scene needs next
• 25:50 Forget Unicorn Chasing: Why the alpha strategy matters more at pre-seed
• 28:40 Is Now the Time to Back Italy? Lorenzo’s bet and what makes it different
• 30:18 Ecosystem Building Through Visibility: Why global VCs must come meet local founders

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture.

This week,

and

of

and

from

, gather to unpack the macro forces and micro signals shaping European tech and venture.

They sit down to break down the two sides of the IPO market: the soaring optimism behind Figma’s public debut — and the deep freeze that’s hit London listings harder than at any time since before the dot-com crash.

They also unpack what Figma’s $730M paper loss means, how vertical AI is the next generation of SaaS, and what the UK must fix to stand a chance in the global listings race.

If you’re investing, building, or just trying to make sense of the markets this summer — this one’s for you.

Here’s what’s covered

• 02:30 | AI infra’s moment & CoreWeave hype
  Why infra plays like CoreWeave and Circle have the market buzzing — but vertical AI is where the next SaaS returns lie.
• 04:50 | Figma’s $730M paper loss explained
  Mad breaks down the headline figure, the failed Adobe deal, the FTC veto, and why this IPO is about fundamentals — not hype.
• 08:20 | Tender offer drama & employee morale
  How Figma’s $20B exit fizzled — and the May 2024 tender to keep teams motivated ahead of listing.
• 12:00 | Figma as a bellwether for design & vertical AI
  Why product-led SaaS is shifting toward deep vertical AI workflows — and what that means for investors.
• 15:45 | London: the slowest IPO H1 in nearly 30 years
  Counter to the US’s $9B+ haul in 12 deals, London managed just $160M across five listings. A brutal gap.
• 18:10 | Worse than dot-com. Worse than ‘08.
  Dan & Mad put the numbers in perspective: this is the weakest stretch since before many listeners were born.
• 26:15 | Dual-class shares & free float: too little too late?
  Why tweaking share classes & float minimums is more copy-paste than innovation — and not the real fix.
• 35:20 | The ESG paradox & listing tension
  Where does London’s ESG edge help — and where does it push big companies abroad?
• 40:15 | US vs UK capital markets: talent, trust & scale
  Why founders and funds still flock to New York — and the structural advantages London must address.
• 44:30 | Can London fight back?
  What would it actually take to make London relevant again for growth listings? Dan’s realist take.
• 50:00 | Lessons from Figma for founders
  Why strong fundamentals still matter — and how the tender saga shows the cost of employee trust.
• 55:00 | The vertical AI playbook: Europe’s edge?
  Where Europe’s sector expertise might win if it can get capital markets working again.

In this episode,

talks with

and

Founding Partners of

, to unpack their mission-driven approach to health and wellness investing. They dive into “Joyspan®”, their unique investment thesis which centres on a personal balance between health and happiness, and the growing need to separate science from hype in health tech.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 02:53 Paolo Pio's Journey to Venture Capital
• 05:52 Matt Cooper's Accidental Path to VC
• 14:57 Unique Positioning in the Venture Ecosystem
• 17:46 The Importance of Entrepreneurial Integrity
• 20:55 Navigating the European Venture Landscape
• 24:08 Investment Strategies and Value Creation
• 28:03 Developing Future Leaders in Venture Capital
• 31:01 The Mission of Joyspan®: Health, Wellbeing, and Happiness
• 36:34 Integrating Health and Joyspan® into Venture Capital
• 40:27 Separating Science from Fiction in Health Tech

In this episode,

sits down with

to unpack the unique thesis behind

, a specialist VC fund backing early-stage founders in the global AdTech and MarTech sector.

Rich explores why this trillion-dollar industry has remained overlooked by mainstream VC, what it takes to be a successful investor in the complex ad ecosystem, and why FirstPartyCapital's massive LP network and deep expertise are enabling them to lead the charge.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 04:07 Why AdTech is the Trillion Dollar Niche
• 11:51 The Facebook & Google Dominance Myth
• 12:22 Case Studies: Trade Desk, AppLovin, Lumen
• 14:17 Why Most Funds Miss the AdTech Opportunity
• 15:38 DOJ vs Google, and the Breakup Implications
• 17:20 AI & the Future of Attention
• 24:37 Why First Party Capital is Uniquely Positioned
• 26:27 From Fund to Syndicate, Studio, and Lending
• 28:54 Portfolio Highlights: Lumen, Bedrock, Pixels
• 31:22 Fund II: Now Raising, Backed by Strategic LPs

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

This week,

is joined by

, purpose-driven entrepreneur, former pro snowboarder, and longtime systems thinker, along with

from

, co-hosting this deep dive into what it means to lead with purpose, design for circularity, and build organizations that reinvent themselves from the inside out.

Oliver’s journey goes from first tracks on fresh powder to first tracks in organizational design—helping companies ditch rigid hierarchies for role-based, purpose-led systems. Enrique brings the investor lens, showing how these principles translate into impact capital and portfolio building today.

In this episode, they break down how circularity is moving from hype to hard reality, why trust and leadership still matter in the most “self-organizing” teams, and how the best founders navigate the tension between market dips and mission-driven staying power.

This Episode’s Themes:

• Holacracy, role-based teams & why leadership still matters
• Circularity’s gap phase—and what’s quietly thriving
• Industrial impact: batteries, PET, and supply chains redesigned
• Policy tailwinds: how the EU is making circular the new norm
• First tracks mindset: from snowboarding to systems change

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:00 | From pro snowboarding to purpose-driven business
• 02:00 | Sports, freedom & the roots of Oliver’s entrepreneurial DNA
• 04:30 | The value of pushing limits—on boards and in boardrooms
• 08:00 | Holacracy & new work: why “no boss” usually fails
• 12:00 | Purpose is boss: role-based systems done right
• 15:00 | AI, agents & managing the unmanageable—what changes, what doesn’t
• 19:00 | When people don’t want ownership—why clear leadership stays vital
• 20:00 | Circularity: beyond the hype cycle and into tough reality
• 24:00 | Surviving the stock dip: founders reconciling mission and market
• 28:00 | Industrial scale impact: batteries, chemical recycling & what’s next
• 32:00 | Where Oliver sees big opportunities now (food, upcycling, building)
• 36:00 | Corporates, supply chains & Fairphone as a case in point
• 40:00 | The EU Green Deal, Right to Repair & why policy matters
• 44:00 | Final thoughts: trust the purpose, ride the dip, build the system

At the EUVC Summit, Bernard Dalle (formerly of Index Ventures) and Thomas Kristensen (LGT Capital Partners) shared candid reflections on how to build a venture firm from the inside out. Instead of fixating on star hires and grand strategies, their talk emphasized the compounding power of cultural alignment, junior talent development, and early operational investment.

Drawing on first-hand experience, they unpack what it takes to build enduring institutions—where team, trust, and time matter more than titles.

Whether you're raising your first fund or scaling your platform team, this conversation offers timeless lessons from one of Europe’s most respected firms.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:45 Betting on People: Why hiring for cultural fit beats chasing CVs
• 02:20 Long-Term Talent Playbooks: Junior hires, long runway, big impact
• 03:50 Under-hiring on Purpose: Why Index rarely hired GPs straight out
• 05:10 The Operations Edge: Building support teams early pays dividends
• 07:00 The Index Blueprint: Early days with David, Pascal, and a deep ops bench
• 08:30 Institutional Memory: Capturing partner insights across the portfolio

Welcome to the Impact Highlight series, powered by EUVC, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

This week, August is joined by

(Partner at

) and

(Head of Impact at

), two of the most vocal champions for mission-aligned tech in Europe.

In this episode, we explore the nuances of building and backing commercial businesses that generate genuine social value. Emma and Emily reflect on where the commercial model does work for impact, where it doesn’t, and why intent matters as much as outcomes.

From designing products that serve vulnerable users to structuring impact advisory boards that challenge you, this is a real look into how impact venture plays out at the fund and founder level.

🎯 This Episode’s Themes:

• What “tech for good” actually looks like in venture
• Building scalable impact and sustainable returns
• How to think about charity vs commercial models
• Why intent and design matter more than labels
• How impact boards can go wrong—and how to make them work

Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:00 | Meet Emma & Emily: Impact VC meets operating at scale
• 02:30 | What Is “Impact” Anyway? And why Ascension never used the label
• 06:15 | Wagestream’s Model: Serving those who can’t pay—at scale
• 10:00 | Market Failures & Margin Models: Why commercial still wins
• 13:00 | Data That Matters: From savings behavior to sleep quality
• 17:00 | Charity vs Commercial: The tension no one likes to talk about
• 20:15 | Impact Boards: How to make them useful (hint: be honest)
• 24:30 | The Venture Fit: Why scale and impact aren’t opposites
• 28:00 | Calling Future Founders: Be intentional from day one