Launch Stories: The Global Startup Podcast Hosted by Zoltan Vardy

On this episode of Launch Stories, Yoram Wijngaarde, founder & CEO of global startup data platform Dealroom.co, shares how the “Flywheel Effect” has accelerated startup growth in top-tier European ecosystems like London, Berlin, Paris and Estonia. You’ll hear about what differentiates the European and US startup investment environments, and how the lack of credible data on startups inspired Yoram to launch his company.
Links:
https://dealroom.co/
https://www.rocket-internet.com/
https://en.zalando.de/
https://www.skype.com/
https://wise.com/
https://bolt.eu/
https://atomico.com/
https://noah-advisors.com/
https://angel.co/

Nenad Marovac is co-founder and managing partner of DN Capital, a leading venture capital and growth investor with 58 exits under his belt, including six IPOs on the London or Frankfurt stock exchanges. He was recently named to Forbes’ “Midas List” – the definite ranking of the top 25 VC investors in Europe and the Middle East. In this episode, you’ll learn the one key skill that leads founders from concept all the way to IPO, why the most successful startups lean on both a strong team and rigorous analysis and what role Nenad’s mother played in his first breakout success – his seed investment in Shazam.
 
Links:
https://www.dncapital.com/
https://www.shazam.com/gb
https://www.gostudent.org/en
https://www.hometogo.com/
https://www.quandoo.com/
https://www.cherry.vc/
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/
https://www.boerse-frankfurt.de/en
https://www.forbes.com/midas/

On this episode of Launch Stories, my guest is Stoyan Yankov, productivity and performance coach and co-author of "PERFORM: The Unsexy Truth about (Startup) Success". You’ll learn how having structures in place helps you build momentum, and why as a founder you need to focus not only on your own performance but on the productivity of your team.. You’ll also hear why good planning is like taking a shower, and building positive habits is a key to success.
Links:
https://stoyanyankov.com/
https://gettingthingsdone.com/
https://startupwiseguys.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristobalalonso/
https://www.ziglar.com/

On this episode of Launch Stories, Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan, shares how he created the world’s leading endurance sports brand with a community of over 10 million athletes globally – a business he calls the ‘Louis Vuitton of hard stuff.’ You’ll hear how he moved himself and his family to six countries to oversee Spartan’s global expansion, why Japan was the toughest market to crack, and why he’s happier being called a ‘force of nature’ than ‘warm and fuzzy.”

On this episode of Launch Stories, my guest and fellow Cornellian Joe De Sena ’90 – founder and CEO of Spartan – shares how his path from Ithaca led him to creating the world’s leading endurance sports brand with a community of over 10 million athletes globally. He talks about what coming from a family that didn’t attend college and being accepted to Cornell after this fourth attempt taught him about persistence, how what he learned on campus made him a better entrepreneur and how he has applied these experiences to creating the ‘Louis Vuitton of hard stuff.’

On this episode of Launch Stories, I speak to Michael Schuster, Co-founder and Partner at Speedinvest, one of Europe’s most active early-stage venture capital firms with over 600 mil EUR of assets under management. You’ll learn why founders need to balance product and sales to  scale quickly, and why a successful investor behaves like a good music producer. You’ll also hear how a venture capital firm can make a positive ‘dent’ in the Universe. 
 
Links:
BitPanda: https://www.bitpanda.com/en
GoStudent: https://www.gostudent.org/en
TIER Mobility: https://www.tier.app/en/
WeFox: https://www.wefox.com/de-ch
Shpok: https://www.shpock.com/en-gb