EUVC E642 | Lucanus Polagnoli & Stephanie Urbanski, Calm/ Storm: Digital Health, Not Hype - Building, Backing & Staying Calm Through the Cycle
Welcome back to the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.
Today we’re joined by Lucanus Polagnoli (Founding Partner & CEO) and Stephanie Urbanski (Managing Director) of Calm/Storm — a specialist early-stage fund backing software-only digital health across Europe. Fresh off the close of Fund II, we dive into how they’ve evolved from a solo-GP experiment into a community-powered platform, why they keep the scope digital-only, and how they navigate regulation, AI and the post-COVID reality without losing the plot.
🎯 This Episode’s Themes
Same, same — but sharper: Fund II doubles down on pre-seed/seed, software-only digital health, with bigger checks and higher ownership.
Community as a product: 60+ “supporting partners” and 110+ LPs powering 100+ co-invests — founder-to-founder help on demand.
Specialist by design: Why digital health (no molecules, no hardware) lets a small fund move fast and add tangible value.
Regulation ≠ roadblock: In health, approvals can protect moats — if you have the patience and the cash plan.
AI without the buzzwords: Companion to clinicians, not a replacement; curated, longitudinal data beats generic LLM advice.
Europe’s moment (still): Later-stage money does show up now; e-prescriptions and rails are here; US health is just as complex.
Logo gravity matters: Follow-on quality (Sequoia, Balderton, Creandum et al.) is the strongest portfolio predictor.
⏱️ Here’s what’s covered
00:24 | Names & origins - how to say “Polagnoli” (and why words matter)
01:24 | Fund II - same stage/sector/geo; larger tickets (€400–500k initial), higher ownership, co-lead when conviction is high
03:30 | Supporting partners - 60+ founder-operators + LPs as an on-call help network
05:45 | Why Calm/Storm - the gap they saw in 2019; launching Feb 5, 2020, right before the pandemic wave
08:52 | Post-COVID reality - rails stayed (e-scripts, digital flows), tourists left; real followers now fund B/C rounds in Europe
11:08 | Longevity & prevention - out-of-pocket willingness, AI unlocking insights from dormant data
13:21 | Team split - Stefanie’s operator engine + community execution; Lucanus on strategy and navigation
16:10 | Why digital-only - software speed, small teams, low capex; pass on molecules/hardware for fund construction reasons
22:45 | Regulation as moat - ThinkSono’s 8-year climb on DVT ultrasound automation; Europe vs. US complexity myths
26:44 | AI in health - pattern recognition, prep and triage; risks of generic LLMs for personal diagnosis
31:10 | Adoption & incentives - public vs. private delivery, prevention economics, and Europe’s risk-capital bottleneck
36:26 | Where AI wins first - curated data, longitudinal monitoring, workflow copilots; the missing top-10 health app
42:58 | Community receipts - burnout averted, board-level engagements, LPs turning co-investors
45:27 | Portfolio & follow-ons - Nelly, Lindus, 9am Health; why “who picks you up” predicts outcomes
48:56 | Exit math & fund design - earlier liquidity via M&A/secondaries; co-lead over “winner-takes-all”; stay early-stage by choice