Venturing Abroad

We’re closing out our first season with a Silicon Valley trailblazer: Denise Peck.  With over 30 years of experience in Silicon Valley, from Sun Microsystems before its IPO to her tenure as a Vice President at Cisco, Denise has navigated some of the most transformative eras in tech. Whether scaling global operations or representing Cisco in her birthplace of Shanghai during the World Expo, he...

“Europe will not have a vibrant ecosystem unless the markets are unified.” In the latest episode of Venturing Abroad, we sat down with Michael Jackson, an American entrepreneur and investor based in France, who is one of the most outspoken voices in European tech. With decades of experience investing across Europe and the US, he doesn’t sugarcoat his convictions throughout this conversation: Europ...

“In Silicon Valley, anything can happen. Just because you're the giant today doesn't mean you'll be the giant tomorrow.” Today, we sit down with Leo Liu, an entrepreneur, investor, and tech leader whose life and career have crossed 16 cities, multiple continents, and more than 10 industries.  From Taiwan to Singapore, Vancouver, Silicon Valley, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong, Leo has built...

“Cultural intelligence is a competitive advantage… listening more and adapting your communication style and understanding to the local etiquette can really open doors.” In this episode of venturing abroad, we are traveling from Normandy to Hong Kong, as we follow the incredible journey of entrepreneur Ines Gafsi. Driven by her passions and instincts from a young age, Ines’ interest in languages an...

“We said okay, let's pack our suitcases, go to France for three years… and 11 years later, we are still in France.” In this episode of Venturing Abroad, we have the pleasure of talking with Chris O’Brien. An American journalist based in France, Chris is the founder of The French Tech Journal and one of the key voices covering France’s tech scene. After years of reporting on Web 2.0 and the rise of...

"If you don’t understand the value you bring, you won’t succeed… no matter where you go." In this episode, we had the pleasure of welcoming Finnish entrepreneur Monika Liikamaa, co-founder and co-CEO of Enfuce, the leading global card issuer and payment processor. Monika’s career is embedded in international fintech, from building networks during the Nokia boom to scaling multiple financial busine...

“Discipline, hard work, practice… that’s what you learn as a professional athlete. The same elements apply to investing.”  This week on Venturing Abroad, we sit down with Luben Pampoulov, a former professional tennis player who swapped the court for Silicon Valley’s world of venture capital. From Bulgaria to Austria, UCLA to Silicon Valley, and eventually Paris, Luben’s story is one of reinve...

“Prepare for success sooner than you think.”  This week on Venturing Abroad, we sit down with Clare Jones, CEO of Polarsteps: the all-in-one app for travelers to daydream, plan, track, and relive their adventures. A native Londoner, Clare moved to Amsterdam over a year ago to take the helm at Polarsteps. From adapting to a smaller city and a frank work culture, her move mirrors the values tha...

“At 20 years old, I had this idea of starting this company… So I go up the Empire State Building, I ring at the door, and I say to the office secretary, “Hey, I have a great idea to sell your boss, can I see him?” In this episode of Venturing Abroad, we’re going on a transatlantic journey with Patrice Thiry.  Growing up in the suburbs of Paris, Patrice moved to Boston at 17 to pursue a degree...

In our debut episode of Venturing Abroad , we sit down with Ervin Tu, an investor whose career spans Goldman Sachs in New York, major global deals at SoftBank with ByteDance and Uber, and leadership as the former Group President and CIO at Prosus in Amsterdam. A lifelong learner, Ervin shares what it takes to close deals across Asia, the Middle East, and North America and why respecting local cont...

Welcome aboard daphni's third podcast series "Venturing Abroad."    In this podcast, entrepreneurs, leaders, and investors from around the world will share their journeys of scaling across borders. You'll embark on a trip through the stories of founders and industry pioneers who have built businesses with global reach, as we explore the strategies, challenges, cultural nuances, and pivot...