Crafting Success: The Art of Early-Stage Investment

In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm sits down with Kamel Zeroual, GP of Varsity, one of Europe’s boldest new funds out of Paris. Varsity is making waves—not just for their ambition to build a pan-European fund with global aspirations, but for already closing €120M+ toward a first-time fund targeting €150M.

Kam breaks down what makes Varsity different: a team with deep operator and investor experience, a track record spanning over 100 startups, and an agnostic but conviction-led strategy focused on next-gen SaaS, fintech, healthtech, and climate.

🎧 Here’s what’s covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction to Varsity and team background
• 03:34 – Track record and investment thesis
• 05:57 – Varsity’s investment strategy
• 07:08 – Paris roots, pan-European vision
• 09:57 – Sector focus and founder-first logic
• 13:53 – Why generalist funds still matter
• 18:00 – The case for a €150M seed fund
• 22:23 – What convinced LPs to back Varsity
• 25:53 – Final reflections and EUVC Awards recognition