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Today, we welcome Rodrigo Ferreira, Investment Director at Vinthera, for a new episode of the EUVC podcast. As a VC investor at Vinthera, a hybrid venture capital fund, Rodrigo is backing top-performing VCs as an LP and their breakout companies across the US, Europe, and Israel.

Prior to joining Vinthera, Rodrigo gained 5 years of experience backing VC fund managers across the globe as Principal and Investment Team lead at boutique fund of funds firm BFP.

There he played a key role in over 20 fund investments and managed a portfolio of more than 50 funds with top decile aggregate returns.Before that, he gained experience in investment banking and asset management.

Rodrigo holds an MSc in Finance from ESADE Business School in Barcelona, a BSc (Hons) in Economics, and a BSc in Management from the University of Lisbon, where he later sat on both the Advisory Board and Board of Directors.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:25 Co-Investing Strategies with Emerging Managers
04:48 A Deep Dive into Diligencing Performance for Emerging Teams
05:11 The Three Pillars of Evaluating Fund Performance
05:57 Portfolio Construction: A Key Focus for Venture Capitalists
07:21 Understanding Track Record and Team Dynamics
10:21 The Art of Building a Concentrated Portfolio
10:58 Emerging Managers and the Strategy of Concentration
15:42 Co-Investment Strategies and Building Relationships
17:00 Relationship Building in Venture Capital
19:55 Diligencing the Partnership Fit with Managers
22:39 The Long-Term Nature of LP-GP Relationships
23:28 Closing Thoughts and Advice for Emerging Managers

Today, we are joined by David Dana.

David is the Head of VC Investments at the European Investment Fund, leading the Disruptive Tech & Innovation VC Team with 10 investment professionals. He contributed to developing the new #InvestEU financing program of the EU, aiming at ensuring the technological sovereignty of Europe.

Previously, he has been in charge of EIF investments in VC funds in France, Israel, and of the Luxembourg Future Fund. David was also overviewing EIF activities with Accelerators. Over 15 years, invested +€3.5B of capital in over 120 VC funds, mainly following deeptech strategies. Previously, spent 6 years as investment professional at SGAM AI Funds of Funds and senior advisor Corporate Finance at PWC.

David is also a regular contributor to podcasts and speaker at industry events, expert in deeptech fields such as AI, Space, Web 3.0, Blockchain, Quantum Technologies, Semiconductors, Tech Transfer.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

04:03 Initial Thoughts on Emerging Managers
04:35 Evaluating Added Value and Differentiation
07:28 Challenges with Deep Tech Investments
07:50 Assessing Company Performance and KPIs
09:52 Co-Investors and Market Feedback
10:29 First Meeting and Initial Questions
11:29 Track Record and Full Cycle Experience
12:43 Challenges with Exits in Europe
14:38 Diligence and Replicability of Exits
16:13 VC Management Experience
17:47 Fund Models and Financial Theory
20:20 Importance of a Strong Fund Model
22:31 Submitting Proposals to EIF
24:10 Combining Skills Within a Team
27:42 Due Diligence for Second and Third Time Funds
33:20 Advice for Emerging Managers

Join us as Tom Wilson from Seedcamp and Anthony Danon from Cocoa talk to Leng Lee, angel investor, co-founder & Chief Product Officer at Oui Therapeutics.

Leng was previously the first employee at Codecademy where he was the Head of Product, before joining MongoDB as the Director of Product (Cloud). He later spent a year as a Research Fellow at the Columbia University Centre for Anxiety and Related Disorders, developing a virtual reality product for social anxiety.

Leng is an Expert-in-Residence at Seedcamp, Europe’s leading seed investor. He is an active angel investor through Seedcamp, and the accelerator program Pioneer, and is an advisor to a number of SaaS companies. He is also on the product advisory board for Cambridge University Press.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:54 Leng's Journey into Angel Investing
01:01 From Academia to Tech: A Career Transition
04:16 Expanding Horizons: MongoDB and Beyond
05:25 Advising Startups and Navigating the Ecosystem
06:22 The Leap into Angel Investing
07:23 Learning from Early Investment Experiences
09:35 Developing an Investment Philosophy
16:11 Evaluating Founders and Startups
17:53 Evaluating Founders: The Art of Storytelling
18:40 The No-Go Zone: Clarity and Engagement in Pitching
19:21 Healthcare Investment Trends and Challenges
22:28 Local vs Global: Angel Investing Perspectives
23:11 The Dual Life: Balancing U.S. and UK Ventures
25:24 Core Learnings from Angel Investing
28:30 Supporting Founders: The Angel Investor's Dilemma

Today, we have Natasha Lytton with us.Natasha is the Director of Brand at Seedcamp, where she runs all things brand, network strategy, and post-investment activities. 

She creates the infrastructure and runs the team to support the portfolio of the fund that stands for over +460 companies. She loves discovering and helping to build startups that have the potential to radically change the future and who are shaping the world we want to be part of.

Seedcamp first launched in 2007 to support European entrepreneurs in truly competing on a global scale. With investments in over 460 companies including publicly listed Romanian-founded, UiPath, Wise, and unicorns Revolut, wefox, and Pleo. Carlos is a published author, fellow podcaster and has been on the Forbes Midas List as one of the most influential VCs in Europe for more or less as long as yours truly has been alive.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

00:06 Journey from Startup Founder to Seedcamp Marketing
05:57 Balancing Professional Growth and Parenthood
16:04 Marketing in Venture Capital: Strategy and Impact
22:09 Communicating with Clarity: Seedcamp's Approach to Messaging
27:59 Strong Brand Identity in Venture Capital
28:12 Navigating Brand Evolution and Market Positioning
29:12 Reflecting on Seedcamp's Legacy and Future Direction
30:37 Brand Alignment and Operational Practices
31:37 The Continuous Evolution of Brand Strategy
32:54 Challenging Operational Norms for Brand Integrity
34:27 Embedding Marketing and Branding Across the Firm
37:14 Content Creation: Strategy and Execution
40:04 Supporting Founders with Seedcamp's Marketing
43:48 Seedcamp’s Approach on Performance Marketing and KPIs
57:11 Adapting to Change: The Evolution of Seedcamp's Community Engagement

Celebrating one of the finalists in the Newcomer of the Year category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episode dives deep with Clare Murray, co-founder and Managing Partner of Blume Equity.

Blume Equity is a climate-tech growth equity firm investing in companies driving sustainable outcomes for planet and people. With offices in Amsterdam and London, and based in Luxembourg, the fund invests in European growth-stage companies, with core regions being the UK, Benelux, the Nordics, Germany, and Ireland.

Some of the most notable investments include:
Sensorfact, a provider of an IoT data solutions that enable European industrial SMEs to reduce energy usage.Aerones - a leading robotics company providing inspection and maintenance services to the wind turbine industry.Normative - a carbon accounting platform focusing on Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for large enterprise clients.Matsmart Motatos - a Swedish company tackling FMCG food waste.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

03:29 Celebrating Bloom Equity's Nomination
04:13 Claire's Journey to Co-Founding Bloom Equity
06:36 Introducing the Co-Founders of Bloom Equity
08:27 Bridging the Funding Gap in European Climate Tech
09:35 Analyzing the European Funding Ecosystem
25:19 Bloom Equity's Investment Thesis and Market Approach
33:47 Exploring LP Bases and Global Investment Dynamics
34:02 Growth Stage Investment Frustrations with Early Stage VCs
34:38 Timing and Preparation for Market Entry
36:32 The Importance of Strategic Venture Fund Relationships
40:48 Navigating the Challenges of Establishing a New Fund
44:37 Brand Building and Strategic Networking for Success
48:02 Key Learnings on Personal and Professional Growth
53:24 The Art of Influence and Valuation in Venture Investing

Today, we have with us David Bateman, Managing Partner at Claret Capital Partners a growth capital fund based in the United Kingdom.

The venture capital fund has a total size of €297M with +€700M in AUM and focuses primarily on growth-stage and VC-backed deals with European companies that are typically post-Series B. As an investment thesis, they focus on technology and life science companies, and some of their most notable investments are in Abivax, Butternut Box, Holidu, and Veed.

David has more than 20 years of experience in technology lending and financing. Prior to the buyout of Claret Capital from Harbert Management Corporation, he and Johan Kampe had co-founded Harbert European Growth Capital.

Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀

Chapters:

03:17 David's Journey into Venture Capital
05:37 The Role of Debt in Venture-Backed Businesses
07:19 Venture Debt's Unique Position in Europe
11:03 Optimal Timing for Venture Debt
12:05 Sector-Specific Strategies for Venture Debt
16:48 Key Players in the European Venture Debt Ecosystem
21:36 Understanding the Terms of Venture Debt Deals
27:26 Capital Return Timelines and LP Expectations
28:21 Venture Debt in Different Market Conditions
31:25 The European Venture Landscape
36:30 Building Relationships with VCs and Entrepreneurs
43:25 Learnings from the Latest Fundraising Round
48:30 Advice for Emerging VCs and Final Thoughts