EUVC

Welcome to the first episode of the special series NEUVC, hosted by Freddie Macpherson, analyst at Isomer Capital, and Linda Võeras, associate at Karma Ventures. Today we have Martin Krag with us. Martin is a partner at byFounders, a seed fund looking to back the best tech founders in the new Nordics. We spoke to Martin to hear how he rose to partner in four years, the firm culture and coaching the courage to do so, and, of course, his own secret sauce of excellence.

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction of Martin & byFounders
00:01:52 - Incentive alignment and portfolio assistance
00:03:24 - Joining a Startup Venture Capital Firm
00:04:44 - The importance of decisiveness for VCs
00:06:07 - Using Analysts for Understanding Spaces and Sectors
00:07:43 - Progression and Responsibility Levels
00:09:17 - The Importance of Curiosity and Quick Learning
00:10:41 - Finding Focus and Prioritizing
00:12:09 - Balancing Networking and Board Responsibilities
00:13:35 - The Fluid Partnership with Founders and Career Development
00:15:09 - Building a Strong Team and Defined Roles
00:16:42 - Calibrating New Hires for Long-Term Aspirations
00:18:04 - Transparency and Core Values in VC Industry
00:19:39 - Career Progression and Future at the Fund
00:21:18 - The Responsibility of Partners and Youngsters in Investment Decisions
00:22:40 - Avoidable Mistakes made by Junior VC Team
00:24:29 - Being Patient and Calibrating Before Making Decisions
00:25:58 - The Perspective of a Poker Player-Investor
00:27:30 - Dreaming with the Founders
00:28:57 - Diversifying Experience in the VC Industry
00:30:42 - Choosing between being a VC or Founder
00:32:19 - The Challenges of Being a VC
00:34:14 - Building a Fund and Firm
00:36:15 - Experience and Bad Judgment

Yesterday, Fred Destin shared the news with us all that he’s pausing the raise for Stride Fund III and that he’d “Take a breather and open the door to new possibilities. I have no idea if that includes more investing; what I want to do now is gain some elevation, look at my life and the world around me, and take time to see what emerges.”

The day before, David sat down with Fred for an honest conversation about the state of the current market, how to navigate as a VC, and finally ending on faith and spirituality. The conversation did not cover this hallmark decision by Fred, but certainly, you can trace the meaning and bridge narrative.

"I have to be honest that I'm in a, I'm very much in a kind of pendulum between excitement and concern. And it is difficult for me to look at the state of the world in general, between erosion of democracy, mental health crisis, climate, Ukraine and Israel, and to not take some form of pause to say: where the fuck are we going as a species?"
and Fred continued:

"I heard someone the other day describe humans as, you know; we're behaving like parasites at the scale of our planet, and I think there's something to that. So I would say that at the moment, I'm trying to sit with that and think about what is our impact and our responsibility … What I'm excited about is, I think, there is an increased level of realization that we need to reintroduce humans at the center of what we do. Community, connection, relating. And that what started as a little trickle is starting to be more of a movement. And I think it's showing up in a bunch of places." From this the conversation covered growing up professionally in an American psycho style environments where it’s all about the money as well as the role of religion.

Tune in for the full conversation here or watch it on eu.vc

In today’s episode, Chloe Dagnell from Isomer Capital speaks to Carmen Alfonso Rico, a self-described VC turned Angel at Cocoa. Having previously been at the consumer fund Felix, Series A fund Blossom, and Spanish-HQ’d Samaipata, Carmen is responsible for being the first investor into companies such as Hopin and SideQuestVR.

Now, Carmen is leading the charge at Cocoa Ventures, an angel fund providing the first checks for founders across Europe. Investing $250k-$500k angel checks at pre-seed/seed, Cocoa supports founders as their in-house VC, helping them hack the system with independent and unfiltered insights.

In today’s episode, we’re discussing everything from how Carmen actually helps founders hack the system to fund economics. And bear with us on that fund economics point, as it’s one of the most interesting and overlooked parts of being a great VC and fund manager, and Carmen claims some pretty contrarian views on how she puts her portfolio together.

And of course, we couldn't resist asking the woman behind Cocoa Ventures what her favorite chocolate is 🍫 . So, if you want the hottest tip in town for the best chocolate, then listen all the way to the end 😁

Today we have Fady with us. Fady is a Founding GP at Cybernetix Ventures, a 50m$ pre-seed, seed and Series A venture fund in Boston to back North American and European companies within manufacturing, logistics, construction, and healthcare.Cybernetix are investing out of Fund 1 with a total 50m$ AUM and an established portfolio of 13 companies and notable investments including Realtime Robotics, AirWorks, Bionomous, and Kewazo.

Chapters
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:42 - New Beginnings in Venture
00:03:44 - Overcoming Challenges and Achieving Success
00:05:51 - The Impact and Expectations of Gen AI
00:07:58 - The Impact of Generative AI on Industries
00:09:46 - Robotics as a Technology
00:11:50 - Manufacturing in the Age of Smart Automation
00:13:44 - Automation in Manufacturing and Healthcare
00:15:47 - Technological Capability vs. Business Model
00:17:36 - The Challenges of Humanoids in the Job Market
00:19:29 - Investing in Robotics, Automation, and Industrial AI
00:21:31 - The Success Story of Universal Robots in Denmark
00:25:31 - Considerations for Product Deployment
00:29:41 - The Rise of Robotics in Boston and Europe
00:31:47 - The Importance of Specialized People in Robotics Investment
00:33:54 - Investing in Smart Machines for the Future
00:36:11 - Investing in Robotics Solutions
00:38:27 - Building a Strong Team in Venture
00:40:21 - Robotics Revolutionizing Our World
00:42:21 - The Rise of Collaborative Robots in the Robot Cluster
00:44:04 - The Rise of Robotics in Odense

Today we have Max Bautin with us. Max is a Founding GP at IQ Capital, a 700m€ Seed & Early Stage venture firm in London to back European Deep Tech Startups.
IQ Capital is investing out of a 185 mn Euro Fund 4 and also has a 150 m€ Growth Opportunities fund. IQ has an established portfolio of over 60 companies and notable investments including ThoughtMachine, Paragraf and Nyobolt.

Today we have Patrick Murphy with us. Patrick is the co-founder and managing partner at Tapestry VC, a 50m$ seed stage venture fund backing technical and repeat founders across Europe & US. Tapestry VC has its team spread out across the UK and USA.

Tapestry VC are investing out of Fund II with a total 100m$ AUM and an established portfolio of over 40 companies and notable investments including Hopin, Pitch, Builder.ai, Nothing and Manna.

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction of Patrick Murphy and Tapestry VC
00:02:40 - From Goldman Sachs to Venture Capital
00:04:51 - Reversing Investment and Taking Risks
00:07:15 - The Challenges of Merging with a Corporate VC
00:09:03 - The Importance of Stewardship in Early Stage Venture Capital
00:11:21 - Consumer Innovation and Next Generation Users
00:13:50 - The Rise of Gen AI in Revenue Growth
00:16:04 - Scaling Software and Hiring Globally
00:18:09 - The Benefits of Repeat Founders
00:19:53 - Unboxing the new headsets and their features
00:21:10 - Investing in Repeat Founders
00:23:04 - Building a Strong Network and Fostering Global Relationships
00:25:18 - The Reality of Repeat Founders and Dilution
00:27:18 - The Advantage of Experienced Founders
00:29:25 - Building with Serial Founders and High Velocity Talent
00:31:35 - The Value of Co-Investors and Check Sizes
00:33:32 - Adding Value through Syndicates
00:35:54 - Successful Co-investing and Building Trust
00:38:10 - Life is About Picking People
00:40:24 - The Importance of Distribution and Telling Your Story
00:42:36 - Cultural Differences in Pitching
00:44:54 - Pitching Skills in US vs European Investors
00:47:11 - Prioritizing Amazing and Ambitious People
00:49:38 - The Importance of Luck in Success

Today we present Freddie, analyst at Isomer, the venture fund of funds backing Europe's VC champions early and doubling down on their breakout companies, and Linda, associate at Karma Ventures, which is a deep tech VC in Estonia, focusing on Series A companies in the Baltics.
We want to welcome you to the NEUVC podcast series, a limited edition series dedicated to those entering and on their journey in VC, sharing the insights, stories, and learnings from different voices in the industry. There are many ways into VC and a number of skills that can make you successful in this industry. Upon closer inspection, many investors possess superpowers that are super useful for finding new deals, helping portfolio companies grow and succeed, as well as getting the deal signed and sealed.
The series is dedicated to exploring those unique superpowers in some of the trailblazing venture ladder climbers in Europe, drawing out learnings about how to develop them, use them and leverage them. So to this effect, we spoke to a wide range of voices, managing partners, recruiters, principals, and even marketing specialists, to provide a diverse range of opinions on how to help you improve at your job. Hope you'll enjoy!

Joining us today for a deep dive on the state of diversity in European venture, we have Kinga Stanislawska from European Women in Venture and Juliet Rogan from HSBC Innovation Banking.

Juliet works in the investor coverage team at HSBC Innovation Banking – Providing support and access to the HSBC platform to investors and their portfolio companies.
Prior to joining HSBC, Juliet spend 10 years at Barclays where she co-founded the female founders forum.

Kinga is a co-Founder of the leading CEE (Poland based) VC fund - Experior VC with investments in data driven CEE startups with global ambitions. She is also an Investment Committee Member at EIC as well as the EIC Fund, the largest deep-tech fund in Europe and board member at fast growing companies. As one of Europe's first VC funds to be befounded by women, Kinga also co-initiated the European Women in VC Community which published an annual report on the state of diversity in European Venture - which we dive into today 👀

Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction to The Episode
00:02:07 - Increasing Female Presence in Tech and Venture
00:04:16 - Launching the Report at TechBBQ
00:06:13 - The Foundation Of The Survey
00:08:27 - The Importance of Diversity in Funding
00:12:24 - The Performance of Mixed Teams
00:14:53 - The Importance of Getting More Women into the Industry
00:16:37 - Equity in Investments and Succession Planning
00:18:38 - Affordability of General Partnerships for Women
00:20:40 - The Importance of Diversity in Management Teams
00:22:26 - Progression and Measurement in Impact Investing
00:26:15 - Equality and Support in Venture Capital
00:28:26 - The Rise of Female Emerging Managers in VC
00:32:24 - Reflections on VC Accelerators & VC Lab in Particular
00:34:28 - Broadening Access to Venture Capital for Women
00:38:27 - Investing in Diversity for Long-Term Success
00:40:25 - Personal Choice and Taxpayer Institutions in Europe
00:42:32 - The Speed of Change and Female-led Startups
00:44:36 - Collaboration and Unity

Today’s a special day here at eu.vc as we’re announcing our investment into Nucleus Capital 🥳 and of course, we do that by sharing with you a deep dive episode with Max and Isabella, the two General Partners of Nucleus.

For those who've been with us for a while, the name 'Nucleus Capital' might ring a bell🔔. And for good reason, as we’ve been tracking the firm's journey right from the launch of Nucleus I. To big hardship, we missed the opportunity to invest in Nucleus I, so of course, we’re now buzzing with excitement as we’re binding the final knots for our Nucleus II Syndicate.

Based in Berlin, Nucleus Capital is a frontrunner in the Pre-Seed and Seed venture space, dedicated to supporting purpose-driven founders who are solving systemic challenges to planetary health.

Dive in with us 👀 and read the whole article covering Nucleus on eu.vc

Chapters:
00:00:00 - The European VC Podcast Introduction
00:04:10 - Pooling expertise and building a community
00:08:11 - The Journey of Building Nucleus
00:11:30 - Making the Decision to Work Together
00:12:56 - Isabella Realizing The Worst Decision She Could've Made
00:14:38 - Lessons Learned from Fundraising
00:16:18 - Inflection points and supporting founders
00:17:43 - Tech Bio: Software-driven models leveraging biological data sets
00:19:44 - The Importance of Meta-Level and Environmental Factors
00:21:41 - Building Relationships and Effective Decks
00:23:30 - Differentiation and Positioning in the Startup Industry
00:25:16 - Delivering Change and Driving Returns
00:27:14 - Bio-based solutions for industry decarbonization
00:29:17 - Sector Focus for Better Returns
00:30:51 - Including Sustainability and Deep Tech Premiums in Valuations
00:32:53 - Investing in Technologies for Sustainable Production
00:34:23 - Repath, Analyzing Risk Exposure and Climate Change
00:36:15 - Planet A Foods The CO2 Footprint of the Cocoa Industry
00:39:41 - Enabling a Viable Future
00:41:38 - Balancing the Portfolio

#EUVC #VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup

Today we have Andrew Noble with us. Andrew is a partner at Par Equity, an early-stage venture fund backing health tech, climate tech and industrial tech companies. Par Equity invests in the north of the UK, applies a hybrid investment model (angel approach meets VC), and focuses on B2B IP rich companies to create outstanding results.
Par Equity has a total of £213m AUM and an established portfolio of 77 companies, 48 in the current portfolio and 29 exits, and notable investments including Integrated Graphene, AEM, Fuuse, Current Health, Delta DNA and ICS Learn.

Chapters
02:12 - From Professional Skiing to VC
05:40 - From Intern to VC - Andrew’s journey at Par Equity
07:27 - The Grit of Being a Sports Athlete in Business
09:10 - Launching a Self-Funded Search Fund
15:37 - The Role of VCs in the Startup Journey
17:43 - The Evolution of ParEquity and the Benefits of a Melting Pot Approach
19:16 - Deep dive on the North of the UK Tech Ecosystem
21:07 - Dislocation in the Funding Landscape
22:57 - Concentration of VC $$ in Capital Cities & Investing outside of them
28:45 - Success Story: Delta DNA
32:13 - Andrew’s Three Biggest Learnings from the Last 10 Years
34:01 - The Importance of Local Players and Existing Relationships in VC
36:00 - Investing in People in Your Region
37:44 - Key Advice for Emerging Managers
39:06 - Considerations for LP Makeup
40:42 - A VC firm's success indicators