

Venture Europe: Entrepreneurship | Technology | Venture Capital | Eu/Acc
Calin Fabri | Entrepreneur | Advisor
personal conversations with the entrepreneurs and investors creating a future worth getting excited about
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 29, 2025 • 39min
Jan-Hendrick Boelens - Air-to-air counter-drone system, Defending Europe, Why Europe needs a single defense market, The constrains in the supply chain and dependencies on China
Jan-Hendrick Boelens co-founder and CEO of Alpine Eagle.Munich-based and backed by leading investors including General Catalyst and IQ Capital, Alpine Eagle is building the world's first air-to-air counter-drone system.Prior to Alpine Jan-Hendrick was chief engineer at Airbus, and CTO at Volocopter and Quantum Systems.During this episode we discuss how technology can help protect democracies in the face of global instability, why Europe needs and single defence market and the dependency on China in the supply chain.Enjoy!

May 28, 2025 • 19min
Europe's Defense Transformation: Spending, Policy, and Investment Opportunities
An overview of the European defense market, excluding Russia, highlighting a significant and accelerated increase in investment driven by the changed geopolitical landscape, primarily following the conflict in Ukraine. We detail the current size and projected growth of defense spending by EU and key European NATO nations, emphasizing the commitment to and achievement of NATO spending targets as a percentage of GDP, with several countries exceeding the 2% benchmark. We also outlines the key drivers of this transformation, including geopolitical imperatives and strategic alignment within NATO and the EU, alongside emerging trends like technological advancements in AI, cybersecurity, and advanced platforms, as well as industrial and procurement dynamics aiming for greater collaboration and strategic autonomy. Finally, we discuss investment opportunities in leading European defense companies and attractive market segments, while also addressing the strategic considerations and risks for investors, such as production scalability, supply chain vulnerabilities, fiscal sustainability, and evolving ethical concerns.

May 25, 2025 • 20min
AI - History, Trends and Opportunities
Explore the transformative force of Artificial Intelligence (AI), outlining its historical evolution from foundational concepts to modern advancements like generative AI and large language models. We detail the primary drivers fueling AI's growth, including technological enablers like increased computing power and big data, as well as economic and societal factors. Furthermore, we analyze the vast opportunities AI presents across key industries such as healthcare, finance, and transportation, alongside its potential to drive economic growth and offer societal benefits. Finally, we critically examine the significant threats and challenges accompanying AI, emphasizing ethical considerations, potential socio-economic impacts, security vulnerabilities, and inherent technical limitations.

May 22, 2025 • 29min
Sebastian Hjärne - From prompt to hire, Recycling tennis balls, The search engine for talent, Raising funds from the Swedish Tech Mafia
Sebastian Hjarne - founder and CEO of Talentium.At Talentium they are building the search engine for talent and creating an end-to-end platform for hiring.€3.5m pre-seed round led by EQT ventures, with participation from some exceptional angels like Sebastian - the CEO of the giant Klarna, Joel - CEO of Sana Labs and Fredrik - CEO of Voi Technologies. During this episode we discuss about the how Talentium was built from the frustration of finding top talent in machine learning, the challenge with boolean search and the more human future of hiring.Enjoy!

May 21, 2025 • 10min
A Deep Dive into the Global Recruitment Market, The $2 Trillion Projected Global Staffing & Recruitment Market Value by 2031, The Future of Talent Acquisition
A comprehensive overview of the global recruitment market, describing its significant current size and projected growth, driven by factors like increased job vacancies and technological advancements. We segment the market by staffing type (temporary dominating), recruitment channel (online leading), end-user industries (IT & Telecom prominent), and service types (RPO and Executive Search growing). The research also highlight key drivers such as SME growth and evolving workforce dynamics while outlining challenges including skill gaps, market competition, and data privacy concerns. Finally, we discuss major market trends like the pervasive influence of AI and the continued rise of remote work, along with the competitive landscape dominated by large global players but also featuring specialized niche firms.

May 15, 2025 • 49min
Jakob Sons - Starting a Medical Cannabis startup, Quitting the lawyer career, Making Eur 35M in 2024, The hyper-personalisation trend and diversifying from flower
Jakob Sons is one of the co-founders and Managing Partners of Cansativa.Cansativa is building the largest medical cannabis platform in Europe and are offering the most desirable products and brands yummy.In 2022, they've raised the 15 million round from Snoop's dog, Casa Verde, and they generated 35M Eur in Revenue in 2024 and projected 90M Eur in 2025.During this episode, we'll discuss Jakob's transition from being a lawyer to founding a medical marijuana startup together with his brother, the hyper-personalisation trend in medical cannabis, and the importance of curiosity, focus and speaking up.

May 13, 2025 • 14min
Deep-dive: European Medical Cannabis, Market Size, Trends, Regulation
An overview of the global medical cannabis market, highlighting its rapid growth driven by legislative reforms, increasing research, and patient acceptance. While North America currently leads, Europe, particularly Germany, is identified as a major growth engine due to recent law changes significantly boosting patient access and imports, despite challenges like reimbursement, physician education, and supply chain complexities. The analysis details market size variations, evolving product preferences (favoring extracts and precise dosing), primary therapeutic uses, and the significant hurdles posed by regulatory fragmentation, banking restrictions, and competition from the illicit market.

May 2, 2025 • 13min
Stress-free productivity, The Bible of personal organisation, Productivity is directly proportional with the ability to relax
This overview analyzes David Allen's "Getting Things Done" (GTD) methodology, a widely recognized system aimed at achieving stress-free productivity by externalizing mental clutter. The episode explains how GTD addresses cognitive overload and unmanaged commitments through a trusted external system, contrasting it briefly with other approaches like Alice Boyes' work. It details the five core stages of GTD—Capture, Clarify, Organize, Reflect, and Engage—along with key techniques like the "Next Action" concept and the "Two-Minute Rule." While highlighting benefits such as reduced stress and increased clarity, the text also examines challenges and criticisms, including the significant maintenance burden and potential for focusing on "shallow work," concluding that GTD remains a relevant framework for managing complexity, often complementing other systems.Copy and use the framework here: https://www.notion.so/Get-Things-Done-Framework-49c2a7e04b0741189b75b97f8ebf0365?pvs=4

Apr 30, 2025 • 47min
Ioan Iacob - The meeting with Revolut that influenced the founding of FlowX, Raising Eur 30M led by Dawn Capital, Why the Ego is the enemy of the founder
Ioan Jacob is the CEO and Founder of FlowX.AI.The FlowX platform fundamentally changes how large banks build mission-critical products and modernize applications systems and infrastructure.They are the first-ever multi-agent AI platform bringing enterprise-grade AI that is robust and safe to use for large financial services organizations.Ioan has been working together with the same core team of founders and engineers for over a decade, having a previous successful exit together.In 2023 FlowX AI has raised the largest Series A globally in enterprise software, a 30M Eur round led by Dawn Capital and based on its traction and growth, lets say the future is bright for them.During this episode we discuss how a meeting with the Revolut team in London sparked the creation of FlowX.AI, why the ego is the enemy of the entrepreneur, and how does the multi-agent AI platform works in practice, beyond the buzzwords.Enjoy!

Apr 25, 2025 • 25min
2025 FinTech Trends: AI Agents, The $100T wealth transfer, Stablecoins and the resurgence of B2C FinTech
FT Partners Research published a March 2025 report outlining key FinTech trends to anticipate in the coming year, alongside a recap of 2024 FinTech deal activity. The report offers insights on AI, crypto, and the IPO market. Key trends highlighted include the rise of AI agents, expanding crypto infrastructure, the resurgence of B2C FinTech, and increasing consolidation within the sector. The analysis also spotlights opportunities in emerging markets, the impact of the great wealth transfer on WealthTech, and the growing role of AI in insurance.