James Clark from Draper Esprit – Publicly Traded VCs

Hey everyone, this is your host Gonz, and welcome to another episode of the Seedtable podcast, where we try to make sense of what is going on in European technology.

My guest today is James Clark.

James is a London-based marketer with a somewhat unorthodox job: marketing director for a publicly traded VC fund, Draper Esprit. 

Before joining Draper, James worked in the London Stock Exchange as the Head of Tech and Lifesciences, helping entrepreneurs all around Europe successfully launch their IPOs. 

And before I get into my usual run-down of the topics we discussed — first, a small disclaimer:

James and I are not a financial advisor, and don’t play one on the internet. What we talk about does not constitute in any way shape or form as financial advice.

And now that that is out of the way—Today’s conversation was absolutely riveting. James and I cover a whole bunch of topics, including: Why James took a marketing job at a VC firm; the importance of having an outsider’s perspective; the key advantages and disadvantages of a publicly traded VC fund; why VCs should look at themselves as businesses, not just investors; how Covid impacted Silicon Valley, and drove investment to Europe; and much much more.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.