EUVC

Nicola McClafferty, a Partner at Molten Ventures and former venture capitalist, shares her dynamic transition from investment banking to entrepreneurship. She discusses her unique insights as a founder of a luxury fashion marketplace, emphasizing the importance of empathy in investing. Nicola highlights the critical phases of startup growth, focusing on product excellence and effective distribution. She also offers perspectives on the evolving European entrepreneurial landscape and reflects on potential opportunities beyond investing, including her passion for tennis.

Dorothy Chou, Director of Policy & Public Engagement at DeepMind, is an angel investor with a focus on diversity and women's health. She shares her journey transitioning from major tech firms to angel investing, emphasizing the need for diverse founding teams. Dorothy discusses the unique challenges in women's health investment, her own first experiences with angel investing, and the importance of leveraging networks. She also touches on AI's potential to drive social change and the significance of public-private partnerships for innovation.

Today, we welcome the amazing duo Salomon Aiach, co-founder & General Partner, and Blaise Matuidi, General Partner from Origins Fund.Origins is a new type of venture capital fund backing legendary consumer founders with an unfair advantage from pre-seed to series A. They invest $100k to $500k in consumer tech startups and come with the power of influence of LP’s community and their 160,000,000 followers.We invite you to listen to this discussion below for some inspiring stories; besides the actionable advice, you can have a sneak peek at the below.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀Chapters:00:02:05 - From Athlete to Investor00:04:13 - Starting your first investment journey00:06:18 - The Journey into Venture00:07:59 - Adding Value as a GP at a Fund00:09:53 - Strength in Numbers00:12:00 - Angel Investing for Athletes00:14:10 - Changing Landscape of the Sports World00:16:09 - The Glamour and Resilience of Successful Entrepreneurs00:19:38 - Investing in Mental Health and Education00:21:36 - The Mental Challenges of High Performance00:23:42 - Raising Awareness for Mental Health00:25:23 - The Impact of Supportive Individuals and Entities in Entrepreneurship00:27:44 - The Influence of Soloman on Entrepreneurs00:29:35 - The Challenges of Consumer Investing00:31:31 - Investing in Consumer Companies in Europe00:33:26 - The Importance of Building the Best Team00:35:49 - Trust and Accessibility in the Industry

Gina Domanig, Managing Partner at Emerald Technology Ventures, discusses her pioneering role as founder of Europe's first independent cleantech venture capital fund. She shares insights into engaging corporate investors and the challenges of startup collaboration. Gina highlights the importance of technical expertise and thorough due diligence in fostering successful partnerships. The conversation delves into leveraging AI for efficiency, the evolving landscape of corporate venture capital, and how to build trust with entrepreneurs for impactful investment outcomes.

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas discusses with David Meiborg, General Partner at First Momentum Ventures.First Momentum Ventures, with their €30M fund, specializes in backing deeply technical founders at the pre-seed stage. Their focus spans deep tech, industrial climate tech, dev tools, data, and enterprise SaaS across the DACH region and beyond.In today’s discussion, David introduces us to the Deep Tech Hardware Napkin framework they recently launched, which includes the latest benchmarks on funding, team, product, and commercialization, broken down by stage. The Napkin and full report are based on a survey completed by 30 DeepTech VCs from 8 countries.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀Chapters:00:02 Meet David Marburg from First Momentum Ventures00:28 Deep Tech Heartware Napkin05:48 Deep Tech Napkin Collaboration06:17 Inspiration and Data Sourcing09:34 Deep Tech Hardware Napkin Breakdown10:54 Pre-Seed Stage Insights14:18 Seed Stage Insights16:40 Series A Insights24:07 Series B Insights26:59 Founding Teams and Commercial Savviness35:46 Technology and Product Stages44:12 Tech Maturity and Valuation49:06 Common Hardware Business Models

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where our good friends Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen from SuperSeed cover recent news and movements in the European tech landscape 💬Go to eu.vc to read the core take-aways.Chapters:00:06 Microsoft's Nuclear Energy Plans00:13 Energy Context in Europe00:22 UK's Energy Challenges02:34 Three Mile Island and Energy Needs06:24 UK's Energy Strategy 09:18 Amazon's Office Return Policy11:37 Chip Manufacturing in the UAE13:56 Future of AI by 203014:57 Healthcare and AI16:27 AGI and AI's Impact on Jobs18:33 Telegram's Privacy Concessions20:26 Mark Zuckerberg's Orion Glasses21:48 Neuralink and Future Interfaces25:44 Foundations Paper on UK Stagnation

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas discusses with Fatou Diagne, Founder and Managing Partner at Bootstrap Europe.Bootstrap Europe is a venture investment firm currently raising the fourth fund, aiming for €350-400M, after closing Fund III with €157M. With €250M in assets under management, Bootstrap Europe is headquartered across London, Luxembourg, and Zurich.Bootstrap Europe targets companies in the post-Series A+ or Series B stage—those with venture capital already on their cap table, solid KPIs, or valuable patents and assets in place. The firm’s sweet spot? European HQ’d companies, or those with European founders or VCs, with an upcoming allocation to support U.S. expansions. They even have 10% of their fund reserved for other exciting regions, like Africa.Bootstrap Europe specializes in geeky, transformative sectors: Deeptech, Life Sciences, Cleantech, Fintech, and SaaS, and some of their notable investments are:Scandit (Swiss Unicorn) in Machine VisionBlueprint Genetics (exited investment, Finnish tech used by Quest Diag during COVID - 1 of 2 largest labs in US)Telensa: largest installed base of smart city lighting wordlwide, bought by SignifyRecent undisclosed exciting investments in robotics, AI healthcare, foodtech, RNA techGo to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀Chapters:00:03 Meet Fatou Diagne and Bootstrap Europe00:26 Bootstrap Europe's Investment Focus 01:25 Diving Deep with Fatou: Trends and Growth02:51 The Origin of Bootstrap Europe04:11 Venture Debt vs. Venture Capital11:11 The Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank20:27 The Role of Venture Debt in Europe28:29 Sector Focus: Life Sciences and AI36:45 Momentum in Business and Financing37:00 Regional Preferences in Venture Debt38:16 Germany: Cultural Challenges and Progress 39:17 Spain: A Unique Venture Debt Market40:43 Nordics and European Investment Bank47:33 Macroeconomic Influence on Venture Debt54:05 Innovative Financing Structures56:54 Future Predictions for Venture Debt01:02:09 AI's Impact on Venture Debt and Beyond

Monik Pham, Founding Partner at Pact and a key player in the European tech scene, joins the conversation to discuss pressing issues in the startup landscape. They highlight the trend of startups moving to the U.S. for better funding and talent. The dialogue shifts to the impact of U.S. interest rate cuts and how the UK’s economic challenges complicate growth strategies. Special attention is given to Germany's ambitious €12 billion investment in startups, emphasizing the need for a collaborative ecosystem to foster innovation across Europe.

Join Jeppe Høier, an in-house CVC expert, Francesco Di Lorenzo, an Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, and Crispin Leick, Managing Director at EnBW New Ventures, as they dive into the world of corporate venture capital. They discuss effective strategies for engaging with CVCs and setting them up for success. The conversation also explores the balance between innovation and financial returns, and the evolving significance of CVC in Europe, particularly in sustainable tech investments. Tune in for valuable insights and intriguing industry dynamics!

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas discusses with Will Prendergast, Partner at Frontline Ventures.With ~€435M in assets under management, Frontline Ventures is a venture investment firm that operates two distinct funds:Frontline Seed: A €100M fund targeting pre-seed and seed-stage European companies with clear U.S. expansion intentions.Frontline Growth: A €100M fund focusing on Series B up to D in U.S. companies planning to expand to Europe within 12-18 months.Frontline Ventures, headquartered in Ireland, specializes in B2B SaaS and Deeptech sectors. The firm's position allows it to bridge the gap between European and U.S. markets, providing valuable support for companies looking to expand across the Atlantic in either direction.As a Partner at Frontline Ventures, Will Prendergast offers us a distinctive perspective on European and U.S. venture landscapes. His insights on early-stage investing in Europe and growth-stage opportunities for U.S. companies expanding to Europe are sure to be valuable for anyone interested in transatlantic venture capital's current state and future.Notable investments: Workvivo (acquired by Zoom), SignalAI, Finbourne, Lattice, MosaicML (acquired by Databricks), Navan.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀Chapters:00:03 Meet Will Prendergast of Frontline Ventures00:06 Frontline Ventures' Dual Strategy00:51 Notable Investments and Achievements02:47 Welcoming Will Prendergast03:57 Frontline's Unique Approach to Seed and Growth04:41 The Importance of U.S. Market for European VCs05:44 Challenges and Strategies in U.S. Market Entry11:01 LP Perspectives and Fund Strategies37:25 Navigating Series A and B Funding38:09 Engaging US Investors39:16 Importance of US Customer Base39:29 Choosing the Right US City for Expansion41:37 Building a US Team 43:40 Common Mistakes in US Market Entry48:04 Impact of the Pandemic on US Expansion53:08 Differences in US and European Business Practices55:12 Remote Work Trends and Performance57:46 Personal Journey into Venture Capital