Welcome back to a new episode of the European VC Podcast! Today, we are very excited to introduce you to
Sumer Juneja, the Managing Partner of
SoftBank Investment Advisors in Europe.
For those of you who don’t know, SoftBank is the GP of the
Vision Fund that we all know about.SoftBank has an AUM of $147B across all funds, has made around 60 investments in Europe so far, and has allocated $13B in total here. In their current portfolio, you can find companies like
Revolut,
Klarna,
eToro, or
BytdeDance.
Sumer has been investing since 2006. Before SoftBank, Sumer was a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, focusing on growth equity and venture investments in Indian companies across various sectors. He has led and successfully exited multiple investments, including Swiggy, Indusind Bank, Shriram City Union Finance, Cholamandalam Finance, and National Stock Exchange.At SoftBank, Sumer is covering the EMEA region and India, and today we’ll talk about things like:
- Europe vs. India - and how each market is different
- Why Sumersh joined Softbank, and his view on fundraising.
- How does investing in Europe look for SoftBank?
- … and more that we invite you to discover below.
Chapters:
04:06 Sumer's Journey into Venture Capital
05:49 The Importance of Mentorship in Career Growth
08:52 Joining SoftBank: A Game-Changing Decision
11:43 SoftBank's Investment Strategy
15:54 Comparing Venture Dynamics: India vs. Europe
22:45 The European Exit Environment
26:46 Lessons from Success and Failure in VC
40:29 SoftBank's Success in India
42:35 The Importance of Having Your Feet on the Ground
43:15 SoftBank's Organizational Structure in Europe and India
46:45 Building Relationships with VCs
53:44 Evaluating Founders and CEOs
57:49 Case Study: Swiggy's Success in India
01:03:42 Challenges of Scaling Across Regions
01:04:23 Balancing Work and Family Life
01:12:20 Key Learnings and Advice for Emerging Managers
