Follow the Gradient

Follow the Gradient

Insider knowledge and real stories about how to build a scaleup in Europe while staying sane. Each week founders Melanie Gabriel and Christian Woese pick for you the latest startup news, dive deep into one specific question on a founder's or startup operator's mind and share how to solve the challenge together with an expert. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

  1. How founders build (or break) trust in high-stakes moments - HV Capital's Lina Chong on hard decisions in startup leadership

    VOR 6 STD.

    How founders build (or break) trust in high-stakes moments - HV Capital's Lina Chong on hard decisions in startup leadership

    What actually determines whether a founder scales or silently stalls? In this episode of Follow the Gradient, we sit down with Lina Chong, Partner at HV Capital, to unpack what she’s learned from being on both sides of the table: building and exiting companies, then backing some of Europe’s most successful scale-ups. It’s a candid conversation about decision-making under uncertainty, founder psychology, and the uncomfortable trade-offs that define real growth. We talk about: Why the best founders make fast, irreversible decisions, even without perfect clarity The dark side of founder identity (and what happens after an exit) When loyalty to early employees becomes a growth constraint, not a virtue How resilient founders respond when capital tightens and markets shift Go-to-market lessons from companies like TravelPerk and Fresha When European founders should go global and why “home market first” is often arbitrary Rather than playbooks, this episode focuses on how great founders think, decide, and adapt when the path forward isn’t obvious. — Our biggest takeaways, including Lina’s perspective on what most founders get wrong when scaling: https://www.followthegradient.io/p/lina-chong-podcast  — Where to find Lina: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linachong/  — 🎙 Follow the Gradient: conversations about building a business from Europe while staying sane. Follow us: Melanie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melaniexgabriel/ Christian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christian-woese/  Subscribe to our channels: Newsletter: https://www.followthegradient.io YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@followthegradient LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/followthegradient/ X: https://x.com/followgradient Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/followthegradient/ — 00:00 Introduction 01:43 From Founder to VC 03:05 Experimental Cultures vs Rigid Vision 05:05 The Post-Exit Emotional Crash 07:58 Founder Signals That Predict Scale 11:40 Loyalty vs Scale 14:58 When Caution Kills Growth 16:28 How VCs Form Conviction 21:07 Using Investors for GTM and Fundraising 25:16 European SaaS Go-To-Market 27:30 Global First vs Home Market 32:53 Resilience in Downturns 33:43 Personal Resilience

    38 Min.

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Insider knowledge and real stories about how to build a scaleup in Europe while staying sane. Each week founders Melanie Gabriel and Christian Woese pick for you the latest startup news, dive deep into one specific question on a founder's or startup operator's mind and share how to solve the challenge together with an expert. Follow the Gradient and stay tuned.

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