EUVC

Today, we're happy to feature Francesco Simoneschi, Co-Founder and CEO at TrueLayer and angel with 60+ investments.

In this episode, Francesco dives deep into his experience going from VC to angel investing, the nuances of angel investing, shedding light on some counterintuitive lessons he's learned along the way. He delves into the importance of trusting your instincts when assessing early-stage startups and why sometimes, early traction can be a red flag.

Francesco also shares his strategies for making international investments and the value of building a network of trusted insiders in unfamiliar territories. Plus, he reflects on the soft skills and leadership qualities that he wishes he had focused on earlier in his career.

Jump to the parts that matter most to you and watch our core highlights below 👀
00:02:52 - On Starting TrueLayer in Italy
00:05:54 - Francesco’s 60+ angel portfolio & striking a balance as an operator
00:07:30 - The complementarity of angel investing and being an operator
00:08:44 - Angel Investing in the FinTech Ecosystem
00:09:12 - Balancing Excitement and Discipline in Investing
00:11:00 - Reflections on Investing in a Marihuana delivery startup
00:14:16 - Investing in The Development of Wetware Computers
00:15:45 - On The Drive of Entrepreneurs
00:17:12 - Accessing European Capital for Early Stage Opportunities
00:18:34 - Investing in Various Industries
00:20:01 - Diversifying Portfolio as a Tech Entrepreneur
00:22:54 - Balancing Risk and Fun in Angel Investing
00:24:10 - Assessing Founders and Key Ingredients
00:22:44 - The Importance of Financial Savvy and Diversified Portfolios
00:24:26 - Mitigating Financing Risk
00:26:16 - Investing Based on Value and Learning
00:28:16 - Investing in Early Stages and Venture Funds
00:30:08 - The Importance of Diversification
00:32:03 - Trusting Your Instincts in Angel Investing
00:34:00 - Capturing Signals in Investment Strategy
00:35:48 - The Reality of Bridge Rounds
00:37:39 - The Importance of Discipline in Angel Investing
00:39:17 - Playing the Long Game
00:41:11 - Importance of Soft Skills and Leadership in Education

Our next guest is Gloria Bauerlein, founder and general partner at Puzzle Ventures. Puzzle Ventures is a new pan European 21.5 million euro fund investing in super early stage B2B companies, and it's one of the solo female GP led funds. Before Puzzle, Gloria was a prolific angel investor, but that's not why we're speaking with her today. Uniquely, she has actually sat on all sides of the cap table. As an investment banker, VC investor at TCV and Index, startup operator at Kry and Back, and angel investor, and built Puzzle to continue backing Europe's top founders with larger checks but with the flexibility of an angel.
Gloria's LPs include founders and operators that you'll have heard from, from the likes of Kry, Stripe, Coinbase, and WhatsApp, and more who've tread in the founders footsteps. They offer assistance beyond capital to Puzzle Ventures portfolio and can share valuable insights and connections with founders to help them grow.
In this episode, we'll hear more about Gloria's journey into VC, her thoughts on ownership versus allocation, tips for micro funds on sorting out the unsexy side of fund management before getting carried away with deploying capital, and how to have a culture of giving first when nurturing relationships and being collaborative in VC.

Today we bring you a roundtable on the impact of artificial intelligence on the wonderful world of venture capital. In this episode, we bring together a stellar panel of Europe's top investors to explore the real secrets of how AI is transforming the VC landscape.

• Fred Destin, Founding GP of Stride
• Claude Ritter, Founding GP of Cavalry
• Ekaterina Almasque, GP of Open Ocean
• Dr. Andre Retterath, Partner of Earlybird Venture Capital

In this episode, we focus on how AI is changing the way VCs invest. We chose to delve into the "how" rather than the "what" of AI in VC. We're here to uncover the real secret sauce that's driving change in the VC world. We won't waste your time with generic information you can find on the internet. Instead, we've gathered Europe's best investors to share their insights.Our agenda for today includes:

1. Where our panelists see the biggest venture opportunities in AI.
2. The debate on whether AI favors incumbents or startups.
3. Strategies to avoid getting caught up in hype cycles.
4. A philosophical discussion on AI's societal impact and how VCs should navigate it.

Enjoy!

Today we have Juliette Audet with us. Juliette is a Partner at Forbion a multi-stage venture fund in Amsterdam and Munich backing biotech companies in Europe and North America to impact the future of medicine.

Forbion is investing out of 2 separate funds: Forbion Ventures Fund VI and Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II, of €750M and €600M respectively, with a total of 3b EUR AUM and an established portfolio of 44 companies, with notable investment including NewAmsterdam Pharma, Gyroscope and Inflazome.

At Forbion, Juliette focuses on the Venture strategy, investing in biotech companies from pre-clinical stage to Phase 1b and led the investments in NewAmsterdam Pharma, Mestag and Dualyx amongst others.

Jump to the parts that matter most to you 👀
00:02:10 - Transitioning from Consulting to Pharma and Biotech
00:03:44 - Discipline and Resilience in Career
00:05:18 - Recognizing the Moment to Fold
00:07:17 - The Importance of Science and Interaction in Investments
00:08:50 - The Importance of Board Dynamics
00:10:25 - Board Composition and Power Dynamics
00:12:07 - Creating Consensus on the Board
00:13:37 - The Importance of Governance in Building an Effective Board
00:14:53 - Governance and relationship building with board members
00:16:35 - The Benefits of Virtual Board Meetings
00:18:21 - The Importance of Providing Value
00:20:30 - The Value of External Perspective in VC
00:22:21 - The Unique Nature of Biotech Companies
00:23:57 - Pharma's Need for External Acquisitions
00:25:47 - The Inflection Point in BioTech
00:27:16 - Slump in M&A Activity in Pharma-Biotech & the dawning opportunity
00:28:34 - The Development Process from Preclinical to Phase 3
00:29:58 - The Dynamic between CVCs and Institutional VCs in BioTech
00:33:14 - The Predictability of Biotech VC vs Traditional Venture
00:34:54 - Shoutout to Julie Grant from Canaan
00:36:33 - Balance and Fulfillment in VC
00:38:21 - Getting to know your LPs

Today, we're happy to welcome you to Renaud Visage, co-founder and ex-CTO of Eventbrite, one of Europe’s biggest tech successes and the event platform we’ve all used. Eventbrite IPO'd in 2018 and Renaud left the company in 2021 and is now investing full time out of Paris where he focuses on investing in climate tech startups and on building a ClimateTech Growth Fund where Renaud’s experience from scaling Eventbrite is one-of-a-kind.

With more than 75 angel investments to date, Renaud brings a level of operational experience and the skill to help founders solve complex technical problems like none other. On top of this, Renaud is a Venture Partner with the renowned seed firm Point Nine.

Jump to the parts that matter most to you and watch our core highlights below 👀
00:02:26 - Challenges of Building Eventbrite
00:04:20 - Renaud's Angel Investing Journey Begins
00:05:25 - Renaud's Accidental First Deal
00:06:52 - Lessons from Angel Investing
00:09:10 - Renaud’s Investment Thesis and Strategy
00:11:28 - Renaud's Value-add for Founders
00:12:48 - Evolution in Finding and Evaluating Investment Opportunities
00:14:00 - Doubling down on Impact Investing
00:16:45 - Going from early to growth stage investing
00:19:40 - Generalists vs specialists in Climate investing & investing in hardware
00:21:56 - Networks and co-investing in the climate space
00:24:55 - The lack of European growth stage financing in climate
00:25:30 - Renaud’s core learnings from Angel investing
00:27:00 - The importance of your value prop and network as an angel
00:29:10 - Follow-on investing as a venture investor
00:36:05 - Renaud’s most counterintuitive learning
00:37:30 - Top tips to angels wanting to invest internationally
00:39:30 - Advice to his own 10 year younger self

Today we have Sean O'Sullivan with us. Sean is a Managing General Partner at SOSV, a global, multi-stage venture capital firm that operates early stage startup development programs, notably HAX, IndieBio, and Orbit Startups. They are the first check in deep tech, starting at pre-seed.

SOSV have a $1.5 Billion in AUM and an established portfolio of 1000+ companies including Upside Foods, Perfect Day, Opentrons, and Formlabs. Sean is on the board of Khan Academy, the Tyndall Institute, the Autism Impact Alliance, the Brain Foundation, and a number of private companies.

From serving as a janitor to embracing his passions as a musician, filmmaker, and even running a humanitarian organization in Iraq, Sean O’Sullivan’s multifaceted nature reveals a remarkable tapestry of life experiences. Among the intriguing anecdotes is his encounter with a rare viral infection that affected his eye, providing a testament to resilience and adaptability. His ventures extended to the world of television, where he enjoyed a stint as a TV star in Ireland, further exemplifying his versatility.

In conclusion, Sean O'Sullivan's venture journey offers a tapestry of experiences, showcasing the significance of perseverance, long-term commitment, and a diverse entrepreneurial mindset. These insights have molded his investment philosophy, guiding SOSV's strategic approach to support startups in their earliest stages and nurture their growth through series B and series C, while emphasizing the immeasurable value of riding the wave with successful companies for the long haul.

Today we’re welcoming Jed Ng on the EUVC pod. Jed is a self-taught angel with 1x exit and has backed 2 startups from seed to unicorn. He started his own syndicate in 2020 and is backed by 1000+ investors today. He is also the Founder of AngelSchool.vc - a venture education program that helps angel investors build their own syndicates in just 8 weeks.

As an operator, Jed built the world’s largest API Marketplace with RapidAPI (an a16z backed company).

Today, we're happy to welcome you to Charlie Delingpole, founder of ComplyAdvantage, an AI-driven financial crime risk and detection technology powered by Complydata. They have raised $100m from Index Ventures, Balderton Capital, OTPP and Goldman Sachs with global hubs in London, New York, and Singapore.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The importance of being part of a strong angel community with peers you trust and whose opinion you value
• How Charlie thinks about activating his network as part of his diligence process
• Why Charlie is going from a more international strategy to a more nationally focused one
• Why Charlie believes it’s important to impose systematic professional processes on himself when angel investing

Hello everyone and welcome to “At The Cap Table” podcast - the exciting new series dedicated to hearing from the top European female investors who are taking the VC industry by storm.

Our next guest is the brilliant Ruth Foxe Blader, Partner at Anthemis!

Ruth is a fintech investor, emerging technology & communications expert with 15 years-international experience at Fortune 500 companies. At Anthemis, Ruth leads strategic investment efforts across Europe and North America. Ruth specialises in technology-enabled business models, insurance technology, risk transfer, early stage investing, product strategy and digital transformation.

Prior to joining Anthemis, Ruth worked for Allianz SE, where she led digital innovation efforts. She was a founding member of the AllianzX team, where she led investments in startups including Lemonade, MoneyFarm, Argus Cyber Security and SimpleSurance.

A New Jersey native, Ruth has spent the last decade between New York, London and Paris. In 2018 and 2019, Ruth was recognized for her outstanding contribution to the global financial technology ecosystem and listed among the Women in Fintech Powerlist by Innovate Finance. She currently serves on the boards of Axle, Demex, Hokodo, Hometree, Kaiko, Proportunity and Stable.

Alongside Sophie Winwood, she is the co-founder of WVC - a movement that promotes inclusion, empowerment and integration of VC in Europe and beyond.

Welcome to today’s roundtable on raising in a bear market. We have some of Europe’s best and most active LPs with us to discuss the following three topics:

• LP views on the state of the current market and when you see the light at the end of the tunnel?
• The most important considerations the panel sees managers having today and the tactics they employ to be successful
• Advice from the panel to managers thinking about embarking on the raise of their first fund today.

Speakers:

• David Dana - Head of VC Investments at EIF
• Joe Schorge - Founding Partner of Isomer Capital
• Christian Roehle - Head of Investment Management at KFW Capital
• Michael Sidgmore - Co-Founder & Partner at Broadhaven Ventures by Broadhaven Capital Partners

And finally, we just wanna give a massive shoutout the sponsor of this roundtable: Affinity without whose continued support we couldn’t dedicate all our time to create content like this roundtable for you. So if you’re not yet a client, our message is clear: do reach out, say thx and consider if they’re the platform for you!