Xavier grew up moving countries five times. That instability drilled into him one obsession: control your own destiny. That mission carried him from law school in Sydney, through three unicorns, Uber, Deliveroo, and Turo, to an encounter over rosé at the Cannes Film Festival.An Alice in Wonderland trailer created with AI was the lightning bolt that led him to co-found Wanda Studios, an AI-native studio for films and music videos. In under a year, he raised $15M from Atomico and LocalGlobe, worked with Lewis Capaldi, built a team across London, New York and LA, and assembled a four-pillar flywheel designed to democratize access to Hollywood-grade film production.In this episode, Xavier shares:- What three unicorn marketplaces taught him about quality supply and why it's the first thing a founder should obsess over- Why following your instinct can be the best way to make decisions - Why product-market fit matters more than hard work and how to find that signal - The one thing he'd challenge you to do this week if you're still waiting to start

Will grew up in a family of shipbuilders, naturalists, and war heroes, a family legacy that, drilled into him one simple principle: have a go, do something that helps people. That mission carried him from a poetry degree to a hedge fund, through a cancer diagnosis at 29, to become a deep tech founder and then deep tech investor with one obsession: swing the bat on something that actually matters.

Then at Lightspeed and Firstminute Capital, he worked with teams that invested in SpaceX, Anthropic, Wayve and Mistral before he became a partner at Speedinvest. 

In this episode, Will shares:

• Why being diagnosed with cancer at 29 was the pivot that forced him to swing the bat 

• What he learned about courage from Lightspeed's billion-dollar bet on Anthropic

• Why the most interesting deep tech opportunities in Europe exist between the verticals of energy, space, and compute

• Why Europe's next Tesla or SpaceX won't start in a lab, and why you need to raise $100M before you've solved the science

• The founder profile that actually builds generational companies in 2026

Zeynep grew up in Turkey in an entrepreneurial family and from an early age absorbed their persistence, bias for action, and an understanding of what it really takes to build a business. That observation became her mission: not to start a company, but to be a partner to the founders. Her path to General Catalyst was not a straight line, investment banking, private equity at TA Associates, and a split-second decision to turn down a VC offer to go into operating instead. Today she is a Partner at one of the world's most influential venture firms, with $43 billion under management and early investments in Stripe, Airbnb, In this episode, Zeynep shares:- Why turning down a VC offer mid-career was the best decision she ever made- How General Catalyst backed Stripe across 14 rounds - Why AI's biggest opportunity isn't in software. It's in services industries that haven’t seen innovation - Margins from 12% to 40%: the AI rollup playbook transforming real estate & accounting, - The only superpower that matters in venture and why your 5-year career plan is already out of date

Bastian Larsen went from co-leading product strategy for a $10B hedge fund at BlackRock to building his own venture capital firm with zero VC experience. Learn how he:

- Raised $25M from 65 LPs without a network.

- Pitched a non-existent fund and closed deals.

- Used persistence over credentials to break into VC.

- Applied "Keep It Simple" to avoid years of overthinking.

For aspiring VCs, founders, and anyone thinking about leaving corporate to start something.Topics: venture capital career, VC fundraising strategy, leaving BlackRock, startup investing, first-time fund manager, LP relationships, founder resilience.

Tim Chong, founder and CEO of Yonder, reveals how he went from a Single room apartment in London during COVID lockdown to building one of Europe's fastest-growing consumer fintechs competing against billion-dollar incumbents like American Express, Visa, and Mastercard. We cover the hidden cost of the founder journey, surviving Silicon Valley Bank's collapse with £12M trapped, and why "foodies in London" beat big TAM thinking.In this episode, Tim shares:- The real price of startup life that nobody talks about. - Silicon Valley Bank collapsed with £12M in their account right after closing Series A- The sticky tape to scaling framework: how to sequence startup problems correctly- Being Optimist AND Paranoid: the leadership paradox every founder must embrace- Finding product-market fit is like giving birth: you can't fast-track it with capital- Risk assessment: go for capped downside, uncapped upside- Founder vs CEO: why they're different jobs and how to learn bothThis is for founders building consumer products, raising pre-seed/seed, battling incumbent competitors, struggling with work-life balance, or questioning the 10-year commitment.Tim Chong | Founder & CEO, Yonder Previous: Media background, worked on M-Pesa in Kenya, management consultant Yonder: Consumer fintech credit card with city discovery, launched 2021, tens of thousands of customers

Filip Dames, co-founder of Zalando and Managing Partner at Cherry Ventures (€500M fund), reveals how he went from opera singer to failed founder to scaling Europe's largest fashion marketplace to backing deep tech startups in fusion energy, AI, and robotics. We cover startup failure lessons, seed fundraising strategy, hiring mistakes founders make, and why Europe will build trillion-dollar companies. 

In this episode, Filip shares: 

• His first startup failure (Tamundo) and Zalando's near-death fundraising moments before IPO 

• The #1 hiring mistake that destroys early-stage startups and why firing fast saves companies  

• "Dream in decades, execute in weeks" - his framework for deep tech investing (Proxima Fusion, The Exploration Company) 

• How to overcome founder fear: the best founders act before fear wins 

• Cherry Ventures' operator-first approach: talent network, go-to-market support, daily founder support 

• "Skip the theory, start building" - stop writing business plans, start talking to customers 

For founders raising pre-seed/seed, VCs investing in Europe, startup operators, and deep tech builders. 

Mo Chahin, founder of Twain, reveals how he went from dropping out of university to raising millions from Sequoia before building a product and how he closed a full seed round in just 24 hours. We cover his journey from refugee roots to co-founding EatClever, fighting imposter syndrome, walking away from a million dollar startup, and finally building his life’s work with Twain. If you’re a founder, operator, or VC, you NEED to watch this.In this episode, Mo shares: • Why Sequoia backed Twain pre-product and how to position yourself for world-class investors. • The crazy story of closing a seed round in 24 hours (and why leverage only matters if you use it well). • How to turn imposter syndrome into a founder superpower through resilience and relentless learning. • The brutal lessons of hiring mistakes, restructuring a team, and why emotional investor support can save founders. • Twain’s radical culture: no managers, no promotions, no feedback and how it makes 7 people feel like 70.

Christian Nagel, co-founder of Earlybird Venture Capital, unpacks 28 years of European VC: how to build top-performing funds, pick founders when product isn’t enough, and why real VC “education” costs $50M. We cover Earlybird’s evolution from the dot-com crash to €2.5B AUM, category-defining exits, and a data-driven future of founder discovery and portfolio construction. If you’re a VC, operator, or ambitious founder, you NEED to watch this. In this episode, Christian shares:

• Why “lose $50M” is the tuition great investors pay and what it teaches about portfolio construction.

• The playbook for surviving VC’s “nuclear winter”: using management fees for winners in 2000

• How to avoid being “dumb money” in co-invests and win by leading and staying close to founders.

• The next era of European VC: specialization and AI-enabled sourcing

Ondrej Bartos, co-founder of Credo Ventures, shares what most VCs won’t say out loud: venture capital is broken. In this episode, he reveals why the industry lost its edge, how he built a fund against all odds in Eastern Europe, and what the rise of solo founders means for the future of investing. If you're a founder, aspiring VC, or builder who questions the status quo, this is a must-watch.In this conversation, Ondrej breaks down: • Why there’s too much capital and not enough conviction • The surprising truth behind his first exposure to VC • How growing up under socialism shaped his contrarian mindset • What actually matters when evaluating founders • Why single-person unicorns will change venture forever • How to stay grounded in a hype-driven industry

Ophelia Brown, founder of Blossom Capital and former Index Ventures investor, reveals how she’s reshaping European venture capital with conviction-led investing and elite founder support. In this episode, she unpacks why the best VCs operate like founders, how to build a differentiated fund, and what most investors still get wrong about ambition in Europe. If you’re a VC, operator, or ambitious founder, you NEED to watch this.In this episode, Ophelia shares: • Why she left a top-tier fund at 30 to build her own • How conviction and speed are her edge in winning deals • The one mistake founders make in investor updates • Why most VCs lie about being “hands-on” • What makes European founders world-class