EUVC E674 | Michael Sackler, Supernode Global: Betting on the Tools We All Use Every Day
If you’ve spent any time in European venture lately, you’ve probably noticed two things:
Everyone says they “do AI now.”
Almost nobody wants to touch consumer.
That’s exactly where Michael Sackler and Supernode Global are leaning in.
Michael started his career not in venture, but in film. He founded and ran Rook’s Nest Entertainment in London, producing and executive producing 12 feature films, including cult horror hit “The Witch”, which still makes the rounds every Halloween.
As the streamers rose in the early 2010s, he watched technology companies steamroll the media value chain. At the same time, he began angel investing around the edges of content and tech. It didn’t take long before it was obvious where the real leverage was.
Today, Michael runs Supernode Global, an early-stage fund focused on application-layer software that people use every day at home and at work. Fund I proved out the model. Fund II is where it scales.
This episode is essentially Michael’s Fund II pitch and it’s a good one.
Here’s what’s covered:
02:40 | Fund I → Fund II — expanding from “content + tech” to technologies that enhance daily personal and professional life
03:55 | The thesis shift — six themes across wellbeing, productivity, vitality, life-ops, community, and creative/pro-work augmentation
05:27 | The unifying thread — application-layer software + UI/UX obsession (consumer-grade experiences applied to enterprise)
07:50 | Fund II in motion — 13 companies already deployed and why the portfolio itself tells the story
10:36 | Sourcing edge — 50/50 inbound/outbound, a gender-balanced team, and why that drives deal flow from overlooked founders
12:57 | Speed as a superpower — winning competitive deals through fast conviction, aggressive execution, and deep consumer focus
14:42 | Value add in practice — growth support, fundraising pathways, and SuperNode’s “connector” identity (with a shoutout to Naomi)
15:33 | 34% GP commit — why Michael and Gina put unusually large personal capital into the fund (and what it signals to LPs)
18:51 | The AI elephant — where AI enhances work vs. where it risks erasing human craft (with the Graswold example)
21:56 | Human creativity vs. automation — why AI will reshape the menial, not the art, and why stories still anchor value
23:32 | AI art, authenticity & meaning — when fully AI-generated output loses emotional value, and where hybrid human–AI creation wins