Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.
This week,
Andreas Munk Holm sits down with
Paolo Pio, co-founder and Managing Partner at
Exceptional Ventures — a mission-driven early-stage fund investing in the future of human health, fitness, nutrition, and longevity.
Paolo shares how a personal obsession with sleep, metabolism, and fitness evolved into a structured thesis for investing in businesses and technologies that help us live better, longer — and how Exceptional Ventures plans to back over 200 founders across three funds to deliver returns that match the mission.
🎯 This Episode’s Themes:
- Why health, fitness, and prevention are ripe for VC investment
- How personalized, continuous monitoring unlocks true wellness
- The 4-pillared thesis: prevention, early detection, smarter care & delivery
- Lessons from Fund I: 3,600 companies reviewed → 37 investments
- The case for “high-volume VC” in Europe: why more bets matter
- From sleep hygiene to nanobots: the future of health innovation
- Community, LPs, and morning workouts at SuperVenture
Here’s what’s covered:
- 01:00 | The Mission: Improving the human joy path through health & longevity
- 03:00 | Why Now: Obesity, metabolic health & the need for smarter prevention
- 05:00 | The Four Pillars: Sleep, exercise, early detection & delivery innovation
- 08:00 | Exceptional’s Model: Fund I learnings, Fund II targets, Fund III ambitions
- 10:00 | The Volume Bet: Why Europe needs funds backing 50+ startups per cycle
- 12:00 | Sourcing & Screening: From 3,600 companies to 37 portfolio bets
- 15:00 | Backing Founders on the Edge: From glucose monitoring to rural US clinics
- 18:00 | The Big Vision: 200+ founders backed, 30,000+ community members
- 21:00 | Big LP Names & Co-Investors: How the wider venture stack leans in
- 24:00 | Why Community Matters: The morning workouts, the events, the energy
- 27:00 | Longevity & Fund IV: Why the best is still ahead
