EUVC

Celebrating a new finalist in the Firm of The Year category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Beata Klein, Principal at CREANDUM.

Creandum is a leading European early-stage venture capital firm backing some of Europe’s most successful tech companies, including Spotify, Pleo, Kahoot, Depop, Trade Republic, Neo4j, and Factorial. Creandum has hubs in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco.

In this episode, we dive deep into Beata’s article “AI in B2B SaaS: Beyond Vertical and into the Horizon(tal),” which we reproduce below together with the rest of the show notes.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

01:05 Deep Dive into AI and Horizontal vs Vertical SaaS
04:27 Beata's Insights on B2B SaaS and AI
06:15 The Future of AI in Horizontal SaaS
07:22 Challenges and Opportunities in AI Integration
09:15 Exploring Legacy Systems and New Innovations
20:31 Legal Tech and AI: A Disruptive Force
32:39 AI First Approach: The Future of User Interfaces
33:23 Revolutionizing the Internet: Human vs. Agent Interaction
35:10 Blockchain and AI: A Seamless Future
35:48 Tailwinds in AI: Adaptability and Data Ingestion
37:28 The Power of AI in Data Ingestion
41:03 AI in Compliance: Disrupting Legacy Systems
42:44 Horizontal vs. Vertical AI Applications
47:50 The Future of AI: European vs. US Models
51:48 Work-Life Balance and Career Growth in VC
59:06 Advice for Aspiring VCs: Embrace Failure and Specialize

Join us as Tom Wilson from Seedcamp and Anthony Danon from Cocoa talk to Szymon Sypniewicz, co-founder & CEO of Ramp Network.

Prior to Ramp, he was an advisor for a peer-to-peer bitcoin lending platform. He has a background in law and has worked for several legal firms, including Norton Rose Fulbright.

Szymon has also worked as the Director of Research at the Adrianople Group, where he conducted research on free economic zones around the world – focusing on areas in which companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage economic activity. Like many leaders across the crypto space, Szymon has roots in libertarian free-market ideology, he is one of the original founders of the Libertarian Party in Poland.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

• 00:50 Simon's Background and Journey
• 01:03 Founding RAMP Network
• 01:47 Transition to Angel Investing
• 02:39 First Angel Investment Experience
• 02:50 Investment Strategy and Learning
• 02:53 Focus on Complex Technologies
• 03:57 Investment Patterns and Themes
• 05:03 Web3 and Early Stage Investments
• 05:42 Criteria for Selecting Founders
• 08:49 Geographical Focus: Poland and Europe
• 10:45 Specialization vs. Broad Knowledge
• 14:40 Characteristics of Successful Founders
• 23:07 Advice for Aspiring Angels
• 27:37 The Role of Angel Investors

Celebrating a new finalist in the Firm of The Year category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Xavier Lazarus, Partner at Elaia Partners.

We’re very excited to have this conversation with Xavier because, as you already know, Elaia has achieved many things in +20 years of activity. Elaia is a French venture capital firm focused on European digital and deep tech startups, from early stage to growth development.

Together with Xavier, we’re gonna tackle the following topics:

• Generative AI & how it has been shaping venture capital
• Future AI trends and what we should expect from this industry
• The recent 200M round they have just participated in with H company
• The rise of Paris as a venture ecosystem and innovation hub
• … and some other exciting topics that we invite you to discover by yourself.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:44 Diving into Gen AI and H Company
01:48 Xavier's Transition from Boutique to Franchise
04:58 Exploring H Company's AI Innovations
12:03 AI's Impact on Various Sectors
15:17 Future of AI in Education and Beyond
32:14 The Rise of French Tech
32:26 The Impact of AI and International Investments
34:02 Challenges and Strategies in Fund Modeling
36:28 Portfolio Management and Risk Assessment
43:52 Elia's Growth and Expansion
44:50 Strategic Partnership with Lazard
54:30 Personal Insights from Xavier Lazarus
58:23 Reflections on VC and Entrepreneurship

Celebrating a new finalist in the Firm of The Year category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Max Bautin, co-founder & Managing Partner of IQ Capital.

IQ Capital is investing out of a 185 m€ Fund 4 and also has a 150 m€ Growth Opportunities fund and has an established portfolio of over 60 companies and notable investments, including Thought Machine, Paragraf, and Nyobolt.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:03 Meet Max Bautin of IQ Capital
00:42 IQ Capital's Deep Tech Investments
04:48 Deep Tech Trends and Challenges
05:15 Investor Interest in Deep Tech
06:33 Risks and Rewards in Deep Tech
16:23 Deep Tech Funding Resilience
20:24 Hardware and Materials in Deep Tech
28:11 Aerospace and Defense Innovations
41:00 Space as a Market: Strategy and Evolution
41:49 Starlink and SpaceX: Beyond Rockets
43:11 Innovations in Space Access and Manufacturing
44:33 The Rise of Robotics and AI
46:03 Investing in Robotics: Challenges and Opportunities
50:13 AI and Robotics: Hype vs. Reality
52:32 Exploring Computational Biology and Tech Bio
58:42 Deep Tech Software Trends
01:06:05 Managing VC Funds: Strategies and Challenges

Welcome back to a new episode of the European VC Podcast!Today, we are celebrating one of the finalists in the Exit of The Year category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Marc-Olivier Luecke, General Partner at Atlantic Labs, and Christian Siewek, co-founder and MD at Vimcar.

Atlantic Labs is a 110M EUR fund with 300M under management, based in Berlin, Germany. They focus on pre-seed rounds but occasionally go for seed rounds. They focus mostly on Climate & Energy, AI & Data, and European Deep Tech. Some of the most notable investments from their portfolio are: Choco, Zenjob, Wandelbots, Again, and of course Vimcar.

We’re going to dive deep into the exit of Vimcar that happened in January 2023, together with Marc and Christian and make sure to touch on things like:

• the thesis of Atlantic Labs and why they invested in Vimcar
• the challenges of building a company like Vimcar
• the journey of going from pre-seed to Series B and exit to Battery Ventures
• … and more that we invite you to discover below.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:23 Overview of Atlantic Labs
00:49 Vimcar's Journey and Exit
04:13 Investment Thesis and Founding Story
05:24 Early Challenges and Solutions
08:19 Series A Fundraising Journey
13:48 Series B and Expansion
21:38 Reflections on VC and Founder Dynamics
37:22 Investor Alignment and Ambitions
40:10 Series B Funding and Expansion
40:37 Challenges During the Tech Reset
43:07 Strategic Decisions in 2022
44:02 Reflections on Growth and Sales Strategies
51:14 Engaging with M&A Advisors
55:53 The Acquisition Process and Challenges
01:04:44 Post-Exit Integration and Leadership

Welcome back to a new episode of the European VC Podcast! Today, we are very excited to introduce you to Sumer Juneja, the Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisors in Europe.

For those of you who don’t know, SoftBank is the GP of the Vision Fund that we all know about.SoftBank has an AUM of $147B across all funds, has made around 60 investments in Europe so far, and has allocated $13B in total here. In their current portfolio, you can find companies like Revolut, Klarna, eToro, or BytdeDance.

Sumer has been investing since 2006. Before SoftBank, Sumer was a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, focusing on growth equity and venture investments in Indian companies across various sectors. He has led and successfully exited multiple investments, including Swiggy, Indusind Bank, Shriram City Union Finance, Cholamandalam Finance, and National Stock Exchange.At SoftBank, Sumer is covering the EMEA region and India, and today we’ll talk about things like:

• Europe vs. India - and how each market is different
• Why Sumersh joined Softbank, and his view on fundraising.
• How does investing in Europe look for SoftBank?
• … and more that we invite you to discover below.

Chapters:

04:06 Sumer's Journey into Venture Capital
05:49 The Importance of Mentorship in Career Growth
08:52 Joining SoftBank: A Game-Changing Decision
11:43 SoftBank's Investment Strategy
15:54 Comparing Venture Dynamics: India vs. Europe
22:45 The European Exit Environment
26:46 Lessons from Success and Failure in VC
40:29 SoftBank's Success in India
42:35 The Importance of Having Your Feet on the Ground
43:15 SoftBank's Organizational Structure in Europe and India
46:45 Building Relationships with VCs
53:44 Evaluating Founders and CEOs
57:49 Case Study: Swiggy's Success in India
01:03:42 Challenges of Scaling Across Regions
01:04:23 Balancing Work and Family Life
01:12:20 Key Learnings and Advice for Emerging Managers

Celebrating one of the finalists in the Achievement of the Year category at at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Sophie Winwood, co-founder & CEO of WVC:E and Operating Partner at Foxe Capital.

Foxe Capital is a pre-seed and seed VC fund investing in the next generation of FinTech founders across the UK, Europe, and the US. Some of the companies they invested in are Flock, Kaiko, Hometree, Opply, and Ember.

Today, we are meeting with Sophie to talk about diversity in European venture capital, Sophie’s journey in VC, and some of the principles that led her to build WVC:E. WVC:E is a community and platform for women in VC. The company seeks to develop highly productive networks to increase the success of diverse investors and founders through frequent local and virtual events and training programs supported by a continuous stream of content and resources. The 950+ member WVC:E community includes GPs, LPs, investors, founders, and women working in tech. If you would like to join the WhatsApp community, let us know here!

The flagship Summit, which brings together 400+ women in VC across Europe, is taking place on Oct 7th and 8th in Paris, and early bird tickets are on sale now.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:25 Diversity in European Venture
02:24 WVCE's Achievement of the Year
04:48 The State of Diversity in European VC
08:20 Challenges and Underlying Causes
10:26 The Role of Role Models and Representation
32:15 Parental Leave and Support Systems
50:06 Building WVCE: The Journey Begins
54:09 Community Success
55:36 Expanding the Community
01:00:24 Community Design Principles
01:08:24 Policy Work and Industry Impact
01:11:41 Building a Successful Community
01:29:33 Advice for Young People in the Industry
01:33:59 Advice for Emerging VCs

Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC podcast. Today, we are discussing all things marketing in venture capital, such as:

• narrative development
• thesis development
• measuring marketing activities
• content creation for a VC firm
• positioning and its role in fund strategy
• AI impact on marketing & future trends in 2024

Our guests for this talk are Natasha Lytton, Director at Seedcamp, Vincent Touati-Tomas, Head of Marketing at Northzone, and Jeroen van Doornik, aka JD, among friends, co-founder & General Partner of Pacenotes.Before diving into the podcast itself, we also want to mention that we have already published two episodes on a similar topic with Natasha and Vincent that you can check out on EUVC.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:02 Marketing in Venture Capital
04:39 Crafting a Unique Identity for VC Firms
06:20 Balancing Differentiation and Credibility
15:12 Marketing Strategies for Emerging Managers
17:37 Thought Leadership and Thesis Development
34:06 The Role of AI in Venture Capital
36:35 Privacy and Confidentiality in AI Usage
37:29 The Role of AI in Content Creation
38:36 Using Templates and AI for Productivity
40:10 Data Ownership and Privacy Concerns
43:12 GDPR and Its Impact on Marketing
45:05 Challenges in Marketing Strategies
48:53 Brand and Strategy for VCs
53:14 Measuring Marketing Effectiveness
58:44 Reputation Management in VC Firms

• 01:07:08 Transparency and Performance in Venture Capital

Today, we welcome Rodrigo Ferreira, Investment Director at Vinthera, for a new episode of the EUVC podcast. As a VC investor at Vinthera, a hybrid venture capital fund, Rodrigo is backing top-performing VCs as an LP and their breakout companies across the US, Europe, and Israel.

Prior to joining Vinthera, Rodrigo gained 5 years of experience backing VC fund managers across the globe as Principal and Investment Team lead at boutique fund of funds firm BFP.

There he played a key role in over 20 fund investments and managed a portfolio of more than 50 funds with top decile aggregate returns.Before that, he gained experience in investment banking and asset management.

Rodrigo holds an MSc in Finance from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, a BSc (Hons) in Economics, and a BSc in Management from the University of Lisbon, where he later sat on both the Advisory Board and Board of Directors.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:25 Co-Investing Strategies with Emerging Managers
04:48 A Deep Dive into Diligencing Performance for Emerging Teams
05:11 The Three Pillars of Evaluating Fund Performance
05:57 Portfolio Construction: A Key Focus for Venture Capitalists
07:21 Understanding Track Record and Team Dynamics
10:21 The Art of Building a Concentrated Portfolio
10:58 Emerging Managers and the Strategy of Concentration
15:42 Co-Investment Strategies and Building Relationships
17:00 Relationship Building in Venture Capital
19:55 Diligencing the Partnership Fit with Managers
22:39 The Long-Term Nature of LP-GP Relationships
23:28 Closing Thoughts and Advice for Emerging Managers

Today, we are joined by David Dana.

David is the Head of VC Investments at the European Investment Fund, leading the Disruptive Tech & Innovation VC Team with 10 investment professionals. He contributed to developing the new #InvestEU financing program of the EU, aiming at ensuring the technological sovereignty of Europe.

Previously, he has been in charge of EIF investments in VC funds in France, Israel, and of the Luxembourg Future Fund. David was also overviewing EIF activities with Accelerators. Over 15 years, invested +€3.5B of capital in over 120 VC funds, mainly following deeptech strategies. Previously, spent 6 years as investment professional at SGAM AI Funds of Funds and senior advisor Corporate Finance at PWC.

David is also a regular contributor to podcasts and speaker at industry events, expert in deeptech fields such as AI, Space, Web 3.0, Blockchain, Quantum Technologies, Semiconductors, Tech Transfer.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

04:03 Initial Thoughts on Emerging Managers
04:35 Evaluating Added Value and Differentiation
07:28 Challenges with Deep Tech Investments
07:50 Assessing Company Performance and KPIs
09:52 Co-Investors and Market Feedback
10:29 First Meeting and Initial Questions
11:29 Track Record and Full Cycle Experience
12:43 Challenges with Exits in Europe
14:38 Diligence and Replicability of Exits
16:13 VC Management Experience
17:47 Fund Models and Financial Theory
20:20 Importance of a Strong Fund Model
22:31 Submitting Proposals to EIF
24:10 Combining Skills Within a Team
27:42 Due Diligence for Second and Third Time Funds
33:20 Advice for Emerging Managers