The European VC

Today we are happy to welcome Philipp von dem Knesebeck , Co-Founder of Blue Future Partners , a European European-based Hybrid Venture Capital Fund of Funds. Blue Future Partners (BFP) is a day-one partner to emerging fund managers (GPs) globally, currently with investments across over 15 startup hubs spanning 3 continents, incl. the US, Europe, Israel, and Asia-Pacific. Prior to co-founding Blue...

Today we have Sam Endacott with us. Sam is a Partner at firstminute , a $400m seed-stage venture fund based in London & Berlin to back founders across Europe (and opportunistically in the US and Rest of World). The fund has invested across all sectors and is a generalist VC but has typically focused on SaaS, DeepTech, Developer Tools and FinTech. firstminute is backed by over 130 unicorn founders...

Our next guest is Gloria Bauerlein , founder and general partner at Puzzle Ventures. Puzzle Ventures is a new pan-European 21.5 million euro fund investing in super early stage B2B companies, and it's one of the solo female GP led funds. Before Puzzle, Gloria was a prolific angel investor, but that's not why we're speaking with her today. Uniquely, she has actually sat on all sides of the cap tabl...

Today we have Juliette Audet with us. Juliette is a Partner at Forbion a multi-stage venture fund in Amsterdam and Munich backing biotech companies in Europe and North America to impact the future of medicine. Forbion is investing out of 2 separate funds: Forbion Ventures Fund VI and Forbion Growth Opportunities Fund II, of €750M and €600M respectively, with a total of  3b EUR AUM and an establish...

From serving as a janitor to embracing his passions as a musician, filmmaker, and even running a humanitarian organization in Iraq, Sean O’Sullivan ’s multifaceted nature reveals a remarkable tapestry of life experiences. Among the intriguing anecdotes is his encounter with a rare viral infection that affected his eye, providing a testament to resilience and adaptability. His ventures extended to...

Today, we have something good for all the fintech enthusiasts and venture investors out there. Hailing from the power corridors of Anthemis and with accolades in the global financial technology ecosystem, Ruth Foxe Blader is with us! With 15 years of international experience at Fortune 500 companies, Ruth leads strategic investment efforts across Europe and the US at Anthemis. Prior to joining Ant...

Today we're happy to welcome Agate Freimane , Founding Partner of Norrsken , one of Europe's leading impact venture capital funds born out of Norrsken Foundation, which hosts events, operates co-working spaces, and runs accelerator programs across the Nordics, Iberia, and Eastern Africa. Their fund is dedicated to investing in early-stage startups focusing primarily in climate tech and they've led...

Today we are happy to welcome Niels Fritze, Head of Scale Invest, a young Single Family Office, where he oversees all aspects of the family's financial affairs, including investment management, estate planning, and wealth preservation. Niels utilizes his expertise in financial analysis, risk management, and strategic decision-making to optimize the family's wealth and ensure their long-term financ...

We are overjoyed to extend a warm welcome to Emma Steele , a standout Partner at Ascension's Impact Fund . Ascension VC is a venture capital firm that focuses on Seed-stage investments, with a unique angle: creating resilient societies by endorsing impact-driven founders. These founders are not only driving commercial value but are also on the exciting journey to potentially becoming the next impa...

Today is a special one as we dive deep on the process and learnings from Isomer Capital’s hot-off-the-press deep dive on the Nordics. Joining us from Isomer Capital, we have with us founding partner Joe Schorge and Principal Chloe Dagnell and Benjamin Rej Notlev, CCO and CIO at TechBBQ , the leading tech conference in the Nordics🔥. Get your scrolling finger ready, ‘cos this is a long and thorough...

As an angel investor, both new and experienced, strategic portfolio creation involves considering long-term goals, risk appetite, geos, verticals, vintages your own expertise, and the balance between direct investments and fund investments. Let’s dive in 🤿 TOC // Read the core insights from the webinar below the video 👀 * The Core Diversification Parameters * Selecting stage and ticket size * Ge...

Today we are happy to welcome Ameer Awadiyeh , VP of Investments at AlphaQ Venture Capital , a founder-led VC Fund of Funds. Prior to joining AQVC , Ameer was part of the investment team at Israel-based Vintage Investment Partners , where he developed deep expertise within the global VC fund ecosystem through sourcing, conducting in-depth due diligence, and modeling primary and secondary VC invest...

Today we are happy to welcome Simone Brummelhuis , Founding Partner & Fund Director of Borski Fund , a VC fund improving access to capital for companies that are either run by female entrepreneurs, or improve gender equality in a different way. Simone is also Supervisory Board Member of Royal Schiphol group, Rabo Amsterdam and Media Huis Nederland. She previously founded The Next Women, providing...

This piece is a guest piece written by our good friend Owen Reynolds from Teklas Ventures , the VC arm of a family office associated with Teklas . Owen is an economist by education and heart, and has worked at a similar regulatory commission as the SEC in the U.S. in the beginning of his career whereafter he made the change into VC first investing in impact in the US and then later joining Expond...

In preparation for the upcoming Expand North Star Conference in Dubai, we sat down for a candid conversation with Omar Hassan , GP of MENA Tech Fund for a dedicated episode centered around the art of raising capital in the region. The surge of VC activity in the MENA region has captivated the dreams of global investors leading VCs from around the world to flock to the region's newly minted airport...

In the dynamic realm of venture capital and angel investing, partnerships forged by shared vision and mutual strengths often lead to remarkable success stories. Enter Anna and Noor, a formidable duo who have not only established themselves as angel investors but have also carved a unique niche through their venture firm "Invested". With an unwavering focus on accelerating startup growth, Anna and...

As the countdown begins for the Expand North Star event in Dubai, there's a palpable excitement in the venture capital community. From October 15th to 18th, a unique confluence of global investors will converge on the heart of the UAE. At the forefront of this event is Kushal Shah , an iconic figure within Dubai's investment landscape and Managing Director of E& Capital and founder of Dubai Angel...

The sails of anticipation are billowing as the Expand North Star Conference emerges on the horizon. Venture capital partners and limited partners alike are charting their course towards Dubai, a city known for its innovation and strategic significance and the streets flow with gold - or do they? Read on to find out. With the eu.vc delegation slowly coming together for our visit to the conference (...

Today, we're happy to welcome Sara Rywe, partner at byFounders , a Nordic and Baltic's early-stage tech investor with a difference. They stand toe to toe with founders and have a community-driven approach to investing. Founders know exactly what they're getting into when they engage with byFounders from the metrics they're looking for to ticket size, investment terms, and the fund standard term sh...

Today we’re excited to introduce you to Stefan Walter , Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Cavalry Ventures , one of Europe’s leading early stage funds or as they say themselves: Rather than focusing on a particular vertical, we focus on a specific stage, which is the “as early as it makes sense for the company” stage. We invest early, often pre-product and pre-revenue. And the Cavalry stable is f...

Today’s episode is definitely on the nerdy side. But that’s a good thing - and for two reasons: 1) it means we actually get deep enough to deliver value to you and 2) this topic deserves much more attention than it usually gets - or to use Fred Destin’s words in our last episode: You have no excuse not to be sophisticated when talking about portfolio construction and reserves. All the knowledge is...

In today's episode, Sarah Finegan from Antler speak with someone who likely needs no introduction to many: Check Warner , co-founder of Ada Ventures . Ada Ventures finds and funds extraordinary talent-building breakthrough ideas for the hardest problems we face. Check invests £250,000-1m in UK technology companies across climate , economic empowerment , and healthcare & aging .  So why do we say C...

Today we’re happy to welcome the Master of Chaos, Fred Destin , Founding Partner of Stride . Currently investing out of Fund II with a total £220M AUM with an established portfolio of approx 25 companies per fund and recent investments including Triver , Conceivable. Life , TechWolf and Hofy and some notable investments counting Zoopla , PillPack , Superhuman , LinkTree , Deliveroo , Secret Escape...

Welcome to the first episode of a mini-series spotlighting European LPs’ perspectives on venture investing in Europe. In this first episode, we’re joined by Daniel Schex , PE & VC Investment Professional at FINVIA, a leading Multi Family Office in Germany serving the special needs of high-net-worth individuals. FINVIA has 4,5bn EUR in Assets Under Management on their platform, investing in funds a...

Welcome, my fellow VC aficionados, to another episode of the At The Cap Table podcast . Humbly hosted by Savs Tan , this episode introduces you to the most esteemed Deepali Nangia , Partner at the Austrian powerhouse Speedinvest . Deepali joined Speedinvest to focus on finding, funding, and supporting investment in underrepresented founders and head their 3m€ FoF program. She’s a past co-founder o...