No grit, no pearls. - by Oyster Bay

In this episode of Ask a VC Anything, Felix Leonhardt takes live questions from founders on how to read investors before you take their money, what traction actually means per category, and why the age of AI might be the best time to build as a solo founder.

In this session:

• Fund lifecycle: how to ask a VC if they have money left (and why they should just tell you)

• Solo founders and why Felix backs them without hesitation

• Turn rate for retail, retention for D2C: what traction actually means

• The pitch deck framework Felix still uses: Simon Sinek's Start With Why

• B2B social media: why investors don't care

• Why the warm intro still wins (and what it actually signals)

  
  

  
  

—

ABOUT THE HOST: Felix Leonhardt is Managing Partner at Oyster Bay Venture Capital, one of Europe's leading food-focused VC funds with €100M+ under management. Former founder (Purefood/Lycka, exit 2020). Portfolio: Oatly, Air Up, La Vie, GoodBytz, Stenon, Meatly + more.

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/felixleonhardt

🌐 oysterbay.vc

—

WANT TO JOIN THE NEXT SESSION? Ask a VC Anything takes place monthly - live, unfiltered, with questions from real founders.

In this episode of Ask a VC Anything, Felix Leonhardt takes unfiltered questions from founders on commercial traction, regulatory risk, and how to close a round when no one is committing. He also shares what it was actually like to raise his first round as a founder, including not knowing what a cap table was.

In this session:

• NDA vs. JDA: an NDA is not a sign of interest
• Why you should never set your own valuation as a first-time founder

• FOMO fundraising: how to make investors compete for your deal
• Regulatory risk in biotech and deep tech
• How to convince a VC to back you when your whole sector is out of favour

—

ABOUT THE HOST: Felix Leonhardt is Managing Partner at Oyster Bay Venture Capital, one of Europe's leading food-focused VC funds with €100M+ under management. Former founder (Purefood/Lycka, exit 2020). Portfolio: Oatly, Air Up, La Vie, GoodBytz, Stenon, Meatly + more. 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/felixleonhardt 🌐 oysterbay.vc

—

WANT TO JOIN THE NEXT SESSION? Ask a VC Anything takes place monthly - live, unfiltered, with questions from real founders. You can sign up here →  https://luma.com/c91o0mcu

In this episode of Ask a VC Anything, Felix Leonhardt takes live, unfiltered questions from founders on valuation strategy, ESOP sizing, strategic investors, biotech red flags, and whether AI is quietly resetting what "good growth" even looks like.

In this session:

• How to model your cap table 3-4 rounds ahead

• Why a 20% strategic investor stake could quietly kill your next round

• The ESOP move most VCs secretly hate

• Biotech's most common red flag, and how to spot it early

• When turning down VC money is actually the smarter move

• Why AI fatigue is real, and what still cuts through it

—

ABOUT THE HOST: Felix Leonhardt is Managing Partner at Oyster Bay Venture Capital, one of Europe's leading food-focused VC funds with €100M+ under management. Former founder (Purefood/Lycka, exit 2020). Portfolio: Oatly, Air Up, La Vie, GoodBytz, Stenon, Meatly + more. 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/felixleonhardt 🌐 oysterbay.vc

—
WANT TO JOIN THE NEXT SESSION? Ask a VC Anything takes place monthly - live, unfiltered, with questions from real founders. You can sign up here → https://luma.com/vbadzpfx

In this episode of Ask a VC Anything, Felix Leonhardt gives live, unfiltered feedback on two real pitch decks and takes hard questions on cap tables, pre-seed traction, reverse due diligence, VSOP, food financing, and AI in food tech.
In this session:

• Live pitch deck teardown: 2 real decks, real speed, real feedback
• Cap table red flag: CEO owns 10% and why that's an instant no-go
• Pre-seed with zero LOIs: what Felix actually needs to see
• Reverse DD: the one question every founder should ask their VC
• VSOP done right: 2-year cliff, 5-year vesting and why the market standard is wrong
• AI & food: why Felix wouldn't want a software fund right now

—
ABOUT THE HOST: Felix Leonhardt is Managing Partner at Oyster Bay Venture Capital, one of Europe's leading food-focused VC funds with €100M+ under management. Former founder (Purefood/Lycka, exit 2020). Portfolio: Oatly, Air Up, La Vie, GoodBytz, Stenon, Meatly + more.
🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/felixleonhardt
🌐 oysterbay.vc
—
WANT TO JOIN THE NEXT SESSION? Ask a VC Anything takes place monthly - live, unfiltered, with real questions from real founders. You can sign up here → https://luma.com/vbadzpfx