Jonny Clifford rarely does interviews, but he’s breaking his silence to detail the strategy behind Entrepreneur First’s massive $200M Series D.

This is a masterclass in how EF is engineering a global shift in founder ambition and why the "Bay Area mindset" is the ultimate competitive advantage.

We dive deep into the mechanics of the new funding, the "rubber band" effect of relocating startups to San Francisco, and the future of talent investing

Jonny Clifford is a Partner at EF, where they have been instrumental in building a portfolio now worth a combined $16B+. A former primary school teacher turned talent investor, he works alongside founders Matthew Clifford and Alice Bentinck to identify and back the world's most ambitious individuals before they even have a company.

We discuss:

• Raising $200M: Why the process was far from trivial despite their $16B track record.

• Balance Sheet Investing: How EF’s business model differs from a traditional VC fund.

• The Ambition Gap: Why founders often "revert to the mean" of their environment.

• San Francisco Strategy: Using the US to expand the realm of what founders believe is possible.

• The Experience Cohort: EF’s new experiment specifically for second-time and exited founders.

• Boardroom Legends: Insights from working with Eric Schmidt, Charlie Songhurst, and the Stripe founders.

• Pulling Forward the "Founding Moment": Why the pre-idea stage is the hardest hurdle to clear.

• Career Pivots: Jonny’s journey from a London primary school to the heights of venture capital.

• The "Inevitability" Myth: Reflecting on the early days when EF was a non-profit graduate scheme.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Breaking down the $200M Series D announcement

• 1:53 - EF’s unique operating company model vs. traditional VC

• 4:12 - Why relocating companies to the US is a strategic necessity

• 6:08 - How the "Bay Area mindset" creates a positive culture flywheel

• 9:15 - Staying ambitious while surrounded by world-class backers

• 11:05 - Lessons from Charlie Songhurst and the Collison brothers

• 12:45 - Launching the "Experience Program" for alumni and veteran founders

• 14:13 - Aligning personal ambition with EF’s mission

• 16:21 - The early years: When EF was a non-profit graduate scheme

• 18:40 - Jonny’s pivot from teaching to the founding team of an EdTech startup and then EF

The Cost of Ambition Op-Ed explained

It's Thursday, 12th March and Today on VENTURES we have a star studded line up.On the show today:11:30 GRITCULT11:45 Luciano Belviso: Founder, Mirai Robotics12:00 Jonny Clifford: Partner, Entrepreneurs First12:30 Sara Rywe: Partner, byFounders13:00: Ivan Tregear, CTO, Co-Founder KAIKAKU13:15 Yariv Adan: General Partner, Ellipsis Venture13:30 Wilson Tukiainen: Investment Analyst, Maki.vc14:00 Ina Jovicic: Founder & CEO, eNOugh

It's Tuesday, 10th March & today on VENTURES we have a world-class line-up:On the show today:11:30 Ties Boukema: Head of Data, Tech & AI, Dawn Capital12:00 Benjamin Torrero: Investor, Boost Capital Partners12:30 Antonia Eneh: Co-Founder, Elva13:00 Hussein Kanji: Founder and Partner, Hoxton Ventures13:30 Martin Prince-Parrott FRSA RIBA: Founder, ROMULLUS13:45 Thomas Clarke: Director - AI Safety and Security Lead, Faculty14:00 Alexander Fitzgerald: Founder and CEO at Isembard

ARE YOU READY: Today on VENTURES 🚀 9 Guests, 4.5 hours, 1 don't miss streamThe docket is locked and loaded 4.5 hours of streaming, bringing you the latest on what is happening in the landscape of Technology & Business. RUN IT ☄️ Where else are you going to find this 🤷‍♂️Eloïse Wainwright - US Immigration Paralegal, Bay Immigration LawHannah Meiton - Co-Founder & Partner, Ampli VenturesAshkan Dabbagh - Co-Founder & CEO, Zero One CreativeMimi Billing - Europe Editor and Nordic correspondent, Sifted Daniel Bobruk - Founder & CTO, ReBloom Henry Hayes - Head of Marketing, PassionfruitHarriet Walker - Head of Talent, SuperSeedMichele Mattei - Fintech expert | Investor | Advisor Kayode Bola - Partnerships Director, HYPEBEASTJump in the chatFeed us your thoughts & questions before & during - It's LIVE.Send in pics of where you're watching VENTURES 🚀Follow us on YouTube & LinkedIn to watchDM - if you want to appear on the show, sponsor or partner

Today on VENTURES 🚀 The docket is locked, it's loaded & is the Longest yet. 5.5 hours of livestreaming, bringing you the latest on what is happening in the landscape of Technology & Business. THE BLOK IS ALIGHT ☄️ Where else are you going to find this 🤷‍♂️12:00: Megan Possamai - Growth Strategist EMEA, Canva12:30: Daniel Bulteel - Chief Ting, Meet-Ting13:00: Samuel Cope - Founder, August13:30: Luke Ramsden - Co-Founder & CPTO, Architect14:00: Andreas Klinger - Founder, Prototype 🦾 + Co-Initiator, EU–INC14:30: Sasha Cayward - MSc. - Head of Community, hubble15:00: Anna Torrents Saldo - Co-Founder & CEO, Metly15:30: Alexandra Didio - Founder, Akind Growth Studio16:00: Freskida Goni - Health Comms & PR, Earlybird Venture Capital 16:30: Emily Hughes - Founder, Reco HQJump in the chatFeed us your thoughts & questions before & during - It's LIVE.Send in pics of where you're watching VENTURES 🚀Follow us on YouTube & LinkedIn to watchDM - if you want to appear on the show, sponsor or partner

Benjamin Wolba, Co-Founder of European Defence Tech Hub, transitioned from theoretical physics PhD to venture capital at Lunar Ventures before founding Europe's first defence hackathon movement after witnessing Silicon Valley's defence innovation ecosystem. Following Ukraine's demonstration that modern warfare relies on fiber optic drones and small asymmetric systems rather than expensive monolithic platforms, he organizes hackathons bringing together talent, government officials, and startups to address Europe's defence innovation gap. Benjamin identifies talent scarcity as the primary bottleneck, noting successful acquisitions like Plano's purchase by Starhawk demonstrate both opportunity and the critical need for skilled teams, while advocating for reduced bureaucracy and faster procurement processes to keep European companies competitive against US contracts.

Ben Kaluza, co-founder of ninesixteen Studios, critiques AI editing hype while advocating for immediate adoption, arguing that style and taste remain key differentiators as most agentic editing demos are "over-exaggerated" marketing. He views Google's NanoBanana as incrementally better than existing models rather than revolutionary, emphasising that creative value comes from making hundreds of micro-decisions rather than one-shot generation, and predicts AI will transform society within 5-15 years, urging early experimentation to avoid obsolescence.

Aengus Boyle, Vice President at VaynerMedia EMEA, he advocates for VaynerMedia's organic-first approach, where brands test content organically before investing paid media dollars, leveraging algorithm-driven feeds that now reach 95% non-followers. Aengus positions brands for AI-powered search through optimised video content and immediate-answer website formats, predicting that advertising integration into LLMs will create hyper-targeted campaigns based on detailed user prompts. He challenges CMOs to abandon outdated paradigms focused on follower counts and linear TV advertising, arguing that those embracing algorithmic validation over boardroom creative decisions find modern marketing more effective than ever, while those stuck in old measurement frameworks face increasing difficulty as consumer behaviour shifts toward AI-driven discovery and personalised content feeds.

Rowan Aldean, pivoted from Casa Platforms' AI rental agent after recognising he skipped steps on Nathan Barry's "ladders of wealth creation," moving from agency work directly to consumer products without building the foundational SaaS experience that creates sustainable value rather than merely capturing it. Born in Iraq and formerly at Checkout, he's now developing software-as-a-service targeting the 70% of global business still conducted offline, focusing on real-world operators rather than tech professionals through multi-agent AI systems that optimise existing business operations. His critique of Europe centres on aristocratic legacy systems where success often depends on family connections and backdoor relationships, contrasting with America's meritocratic ideology that encourages betting on underdogs, despite both regions having class structures. After experiencing Silicon Valley's superior cadence where failure happens faster, ideas churn quicker, and comparison-driven motivation accelerates growth. Rowan advocates for European capital allocators to spend months observing US ecosystems without building personal brands, arguing that Europe's risk-averse culture stems from historical service-oriented economies that didn't reward cross-class collaboration. His Middle Eastern background reinforces tribal-over-individual values, prioritising team alignment and ethical behaviour over purely wealth-driven decisions, while building his US-focused company from the UK to leverage untapped European talent without Silicon Valley's inflated costs.