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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

Today, we have a different episode for you, introducing you to the first episode of the newly launched Startups in Focus series by Seedcamp.This first episode features Carlos Espinal, Managing Partner of Seedcamp, in a conversation with Johannes Keienburg, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Cakewalk, on building access management processes.Their conversation revolves around:
The importance of access control, visibility, and security in organizations.Insights on the need for access management processes.The challenges of data security.The evolution and future of access controls.… and more that you can discover on EUVC.
Chapters:00:03 Launching Seedcamp Podcast Series: Startups in Focus
00:45 Meet the Guests: Carlos Espinal and Johannes Kainberg
01:14 Diving Deep into Access Management with Cakewalk
03:02 Johannes's Journey to Founding Cakewalk
05:05 Addressing the Challenges of Data Security
05:45 Understanding Customer Outreach and Engagement
10:33 Integrating SaaS Products for Enhanced Security
10:46 The Future of Identity and Access Management
15:57 Implementing Access Controls in Companies
18:23 Envisioning the Future Organization with Cakewalk
19:37 Role-Based Access and Its Evolution
22:09 Advice for Founders on Early Security Steps
25:49 Closing Thoughts and How to Connect

Today, we are joined by Michael Smith, the co-founder and General Partner of Regeneration.VC Fund II of $150M. Regeneration.VC is an early-stage venture fund supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation.

Michael ran marketing & digital for Smith Broadcasting, a group of 20 network TV stations, before selling to Boston Ventures. Shortly thereafter, he followed his lifelong passion for music to become a touring DJ and performed alongside artists including Guns N Roses, Rihanna, and Diplo. 

In 2006, he launched The Playlist Generation, one of the world's largest background music providers. In 2010, he co-founded Creative Space, a real estate firm with a portfolio of 80 adaptive reuse projects between Los Angeles and San Francisco. After successfully exiting both companies in 2015, Michael formed Ponvalley, an environmentally focused family office initiative comprising philanthropy, research, and impact investments. He convened Shared Mission, an emergency climate summit with Former VP Al Gore, General Wesley Clark, the Department of Energy, and Harvard leadership.

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

Chapters:

01:28 From DJ to Venture Capitalist: Michael's Unique Journey
03:34 The Power of Branding in Venture and Music
04:09 Specialization in Climate Tech Investing
14:04 Understanding Circularity in Sustainable Investing
25:02 The Role of LPs and Celebrity Influence in Climate Tech
32:31 Navigating Corporate Partnerships and Impact Goals
45:55 Finding Your Tribe and Embracing Change
48:39 Venture Capital Insights: Specialization and Navigating the Market
50:11 The Art of Perseverance in Venture Capital
52:04 Building Long-Term Relationships in Venture Investing
54:53 The Intersection of Venture Capital and Talent Management
01:01:14 Exploring the Potential of Generative AI in Music and Beyond
01:04:36 The Future of Music: AI's Role and Industry Insights
01:09:30 Venture Capital Meets Music: A Unique Blend of Talents

Celebrating one of the finalists in the Firm of The Year-category at this year’s European VC Awards, this episodes dives deep with Stephen Chandler, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Notion Capital. With 1.1 bn€ under management and 5 flagship funds under their belt, Notion is one of Europe’s absolute top firms and in this episode, Stephen dives into a level of detail rarely seen discussing everything from the guiding principles building Notion to the process and learnings from raising their latest fund. I highly encourage you to read Stephen’s notes below and tune in for this episode. I truly think this is one of our best to date. Notion at glimpse:
Fund Name: Notion CapitalFund size: €300m (Fund V)AUM: €1.1bnHQ Country: UKTarget Stage: Series A focus, but invest across pre-seed to growthTarget Geography: Pan EuropeanTarget Sector/Vertical: Business Software & FintechNotable Investments: CurrencyCloud, Easol, GoCardless, Mews Systems, Paddle, Upvest, Yulife

From the principles building Notion to the learnings from raising fund V oversubscribed and the decision to clone his dog, this episode is one of our best to date. Don't miss Stephen's notes on eu.vc - they're legendary.

Big shout out to our Firm of The Year Sponsor Haynes Boone.
And you don't have to take it from themselves, take it from one of their long term clients, Joe Schorge: "Having worked together for many years now, they fully understand the Isomer ethos and process, and we really appreciate the value that this long-term relationship brought to this mandate from start to finish. We look forward to continuing to work with Karma, Ronan, Will and the rest of team.”  Naturally, we’re incredibly excited about having the Haynes Boone team with us as sponsors of the Firm of The Year Awards - yet another testament to their support for the EUVC ecosystem. We strongly encourage you get in touch with Karma and the team for a great experience 🔥

Join us as Tom Wilson from Seedcamp and Anthony Danon from Cocoa talk to Christoph Deckert, Strategy Expert at Personio. Christoph has a unique mix of operating experience with +7 years of working with Personio, the European HRTech unicorn. Personio now has +2000 employees across 7-8 different European and US offices and a portfolio of more than 12K customers.

Christoph joined the company very early on and took on different responsibilities to take Personio’s customer growth to the next level, shape the organizational culture and structures, and hire the right people to support this mission.

His passion and journey towards angel investing became very organic after having different conversations with other founders. After one particular talk that he enjoyed, he decided to support that startup without being fully aware of what angel investment is.

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

Chapters:

00:36 From Personio to Angel Investing
03:43 Memorable Deals and Investment Philosophy
06:22 The Personal and Professional Growth from Angel Investing
09:18 Chris's Angel Investing Strategy
17:43 Networking and Collaboration With VCs and Other Angels
21:02 Core Learnings from Angel Investing
26:05 Building and Leveraging Networks
31:19 Closing Thoughts and Future Aspirations

Today, we have with us Stephan Heller, Founding Partner at AlphaQ Venture Capital. AQVC is an innovative, evergreen VC fund of funds focused on small VCs globally and democratizing diversified access to venture capital.

Stephan is a seasoned tech entrepreneur and investor passionate about nurturing the next generation of innovative companies, developing robust platforms, and cultivating thriving ecosystems. Over the past 15 years, he has been deeply involved in the entrepreneurial landscape. 

Stephan also co-founded five companies, including a leading deep-tech startup accelerator for one of the largest high-tech corporates in the world and establishing a successful and innovative VC fund of funds.

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

Chapters:

00:13 Diving Deep into AQVC's Approach
00:35 Stefan's Unique Framework for Evaluating Funds
03:24 The Criteria for Evaluating Emerging Managers
03:38 Alignment and Uniqueness in Funds
04:14 Evaluating First-Time Funds: Challenges and Strategies
05:09 The Hustler Mentality in Venture Capital
05:59 Building a Firm with a Vision
06:37 Technical Aspects of Fund Evaluation
08:26 The Journey from First to Second Time Funds
09:03 The Role of Reference Calls in Due Diligence
10:46 Deep Dive into Track Record Validation
11:27 The Challenge of Investing in First-Time Investors
18:39 Evaluating Fund Performance and Strategy Execution
21:18 Understanding DPI Creation in Third Time Funds
24:04 Closing Thoughts and Future Plans