Riding Unicorns: Venture Capital | Entrepreneurship | Technology

Riding Unicorns
  • 5.0 (1)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Riding Unicorns is a podcast featuring the world's best minds from venture and startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features conversations with top founders, operators, and investors unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.

  1. Charlotte Palmer, VP of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors on Backing Emerging Managers, Access, and Venture Fundraising

    3H AGO

    Charlotte Palmer, VP of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors on Backing Emerging Managers, Access, and Venture Fundraising

    This week on Riding Unicorns, we’re joined by Charlotte Palmer, Vice President of Venture Capital at Integra Global Advisors. Charlotte sits on the other side of the table as an LP, backing emerging venture funds globally. In this episode, she lifts the lid on how LPs actually evaluate VCs, what really matters beyond headline performance, and why many GPs still get fundraising wrong. We cover: • How LPs really underwrite venture funds and why early DPI is often misunderstood • What matters more than performance in the early years of a fund • Why access and ownership drive returns more than anything else • The reality of backing emerging managers and why smaller funds win • Team dynamics, attribution, and how LPs assess partners under the hood • Why fewer funds are getting backed and what’s changed in the market • The shift in venture towards early-stage and how late-stage AI impacts LP strategy • Portfolio construction from an LP perspective and how diversification actually works • The role of co-investments and why LPs increasingly lean into them • How GPs can create urgency in fundraising and what actually cuts through Charlotte also shares practical advice for GPs, including how to re-engage LPs, how to position a fund without strong DPI, and why most outreach fails to land. A clear, honest view from the LP side on what it takes to get backed and build a fund that lasts.

    31 min
  2. Inside Fuse Energy: Alan Chang on Building a $5B Energy Giant and Chasing £1B ARR

    APR 29

    Inside Fuse Energy: Alan Chang on Building a $5B Energy Giant and Chasing £1B ARR

    This week on Riding Unicorns, we welcome back Alan Chang, Founder and CEO of Fuse Energy. Since his last appearance, Fuse has scaled rapidly, reaching a $5B valuation and setting its sights on £1B ARR. In this episode, Alan breaks down what it really takes to build a full-stack energy company from scratch, and why solving energy is one of the hardest and most important challenges of our time. We cover: • Why lowering the cost of energy is a trillion-pound opportunity  • The reality of building in a deeply complex, regulated industry  • What it actually means to “buy the grid” and why it matters  • How Fuse has already reduced energy costs by 15%  • The next big product: plug-and-play solar and battery for every home  • Why time, not capital, is the biggest constraint in building a company  • Hiring world-class engineers and building a high-performance culture  • Lessons from Revolut and applying them to energy  • Why the best founders are obsessed with speed, not comfort Alan also shares his mindset as a founder, why he rarely looks back at achievements, and why he’s more convinced than ever that this problem can be solved. Clear thinking on how to build a generational company in one of the world’s most complex industries.

    22 min
  3. What Makes a Top VC Fund Today? Dave Neumann at Schroders Capital on LP Thinking, DPI and Venture Returns

    APR 22

    What Makes a Top VC Fund Today? Dave Neumann at Schroders Capital on LP Thinking, DPI and Venture Returns

    What does a genuinely great VC fund look like today, from an LP’s perspective? In this episode, James and Hector are joined by Dave Neumann, Investment Manager at Schroders Capital, one of the most experienced institutional investors in venture. With a career spanning decades and exposure to top-tier global funds, Dave shares how leading LPs actually evaluate venture firms, and where many GPs get it wrong. The conversation covers what separates top quartile funds from the rest, why venture is increasingly about building a firm rather than just making investments, and how the best managers create a long-term flywheel across talent, track record and capital. They also go deep on often overlooked topics including DPI, liquidity, fund size, and portfolio construction. Dave explains why access is everything in venture, why consistency matters more than one-off performance, and how LPs think about returns in a world where companies stay private for longer. A sharp, practical look at venture through the LP lens and what it takes to build a durable, high-performing fund. Topics Covered  What defines a top VC fund today  The LP perspective on venture performance  Why venture is about building a firm, not just investing  Top quartile vs lower quartile returns and the compounding effect  Talent, incentives and the VC flywheel  Portfolio construction myths vs reality  Fund size and where returns are really made  DPI, liquidity and secondaries in Europe  How LPs think about risk, time horizons and outcomes  Why access is the biggest advantage in venture

    29 min
  4. Tony Jamous & Hadi Moussa at Oyster HR on leadership transition, CEO succession and unlocking global talent

    APR 15

    Tony Jamous & Hadi Moussa at Oyster HR on leadership transition, CEO succession and unlocking global talent

    Tony Jamous first joined Riding Unicorns in January 2023, just after Oyster became a unicorn. Since then, the company has raised its Series D, Tony has moved into the Executive Chairman role, and Hadi Moussa has stepped in as CEO. In this episode, James sits down with both Tony and Hadi to unpack what really happens when a founder hands over the CEO role in a high-growth company. They discuss why Tony knew Oyster needed a different kind of leader for its next stage, how the search process unfolded, and what Hadi has focused on in his first months in the role. They also go deep on scaling leadership, building operational rhythm, giving effective feedback, and how to turn a strong remote culture into a genuinely high-performing organisation. The conversation then shifts to the future of global employment, the impact of AI on hiring, and why Oyster still sees a huge opportunity ahead. A candid episode on succession, self-awareness, scale, and what it takes to lead a mission-driven company through its next chapter. Topics covered:  Why Tony stepped aside as CEO  How Oyster prepared for a leadership transition  What Hadi is changing in his first months as CEO  Founder-led vision vs operator-led execution  Building a high-performing remote team  Feedback, vulnerability, and leadership maturity  AI’s impact on hiring and global talent  The future of Oyster and global employment

    41 min
  5. Nikola Mrkšić, Co-Founder & CEO at PolyAI on Building One of the World’s Leading Voice AI Companies

    MAR 25

    Nikola Mrkšić, Co-Founder & CEO at PolyAI on Building One of the World’s Leading Voice AI Companies

    Nikola Mrkšić is the Co-Founder and CEO of PolyAI, one of the world’s leading voice AI companies, helping enterprises automate customer service through conversational AI at massive scale. Before PolyAI, Nikola was a machine learning researcher and part of the team behind Siri. In this episode, he joins James to unpack what the world is only now starting to understand about voice AI, why most automation still misses the point, and how PolyAI has built a full stack enterprise product that goes far beyond simply reducing call queues. They discuss how PolyAI is used by major brands across hospitality, utilities, retail, banking and insurance, and why the real opportunity is not just handling calls, but turning the contact centre into an intelligence layer for the whole business. Nikola also explains why enterprise voice AI is harder than it looks, where the moat really sits, and why owning the models and the application layer matters. The conversation covers Siri, Gordon Ramsay, pricing power, Nvidia, enterprise stickiness, and what it takes to build a category leader from Europe. Topics include: Why Siri was too early for the vision it was aiming atWhy PolyAI focused on the step between clunky IVR and true AI assistantsHow voice AI can improve revenue, customer experience and operational insightWhy enterprise deployments become hard to rip outThe difference between real voice AI companies and wrappersWhether voice AI is becoming commoditisedHow PolyAI thinks about pricing, margins and defensibilityWhy Nikola believes many “AI companies” are borrowing from the futureGordon Ramsay as a customer and brand partnerNikola’s future unicorn pick: Paid.ai

    39 min
  6. Matt Wilson, Co-Founder & CEO at Jack and Jill, on AI Career Agents, Talent Density, and Building the Next Network-Effect Marketplace

    MAR 11

    Matt Wilson, Co-Founder & CEO at Jack and Jill, on AI Career Agents, Talent Density, and Building the Next Network-Effect Marketplace

    This week on Riding Unicorns, Matt Wilson returns to the podcast. Matt previously joined us in September 2022 to talk about Omnipresent, which has since been acquired by Deel. He is now back building Jack and Jill, one of the most talked-about venture-backed companies in Europe right now. Jack and Jill is bringing conversational AI to job hunting and hiring, with two agents built for two audiences: Jack, an AI agent for individuals that learns who you are, what you want, and monitors the job market for you, while also helping with career coaching, CVs, and interview prep.Jill, an AI agent for companies that learns what you are hiring for, then works with Jack to make high-signal introductions at scale.In this episode, we cover: Why careers and hiring remain massively under-optimised, and why that mattersHow Jack and Jill avoids the marketplace cold start by winning in “single-player mode” firstWhy Matt is building a flatter, leaner org this time, and staying closer to the actionTalent density in an AI-native company, and why paying above-market is a deliberate strategyWhat “escape velocity” looks like in a two-sided marketplace, and the metric they trackThe long-term moat: network effects over featuresMatt’s future unicorn picks, plus dinner party guests (with Steve Jobs, Reid Hoffman, and a very specific competitive curiosity)If you care about AI agents, marketplaces, or how recruiting changes when everyone has an AI working on their behalf, you’ll enjoy this one.

    37 min
  7. Nicolò Frisiani, Co-Founder & CEO at Lupa, on Building the AI Operating System for Vets, Enterprise Sales, and Scaling at Speed

    MAR 4

    Nicolò Frisiani, Co-Founder & CEO at Lupa, on Building the AI Operating System for Vets, Enterprise Sales, and Scaling at Speed

    Nicolò Frisiani is Co-Founder & CEO of Lupa, the world’s first enterprise-ready AI operating system for veterinary clinics. Lupa has raised over $25m from investors including Singular and Firstminute Capital, and is on a mission to modernise a sector still running on 1980s technology. In this episode, Nicolò shares: Why Lupa started as a consumer app and quickly pivoted to a full-stack operating systemHow note-taking became the wedge product into a much bigger platform visionWhat he learned from sending his co-founder to work as a vet receptionist for a monthThe complexity of selling into PE-backed veterinary groupsWhy speed and momentum drove two fundraises in quick successionThe long-term vision: from clinic OS, to monetisation infrastructure, to unlocking veterinary data for AI-driven medical researchWe also discuss the realities of scaling enterprise SaaS, underestimating sales cycles, hiring challenges, and how a consulting background shapes early-stage founders. If you’re interested in vertical SaaS, AI infrastructure, or how to go from scrappy MVP to enterprise-ready platform, this one is worth your time.

    31 min
  8. George Davis, Founder & CEO at Lorum on Rebuilding Global Clearing, Why Dollars Are Broken, and Building a Payments Only Bank

    FEB 25

    George Davis, Founder & CEO at Lorum on Rebuilding Global Clearing, Why Dollars Are Broken, and Building a Payments Only Bank

    George Davis, Founder and CEO of Lorum. George has been deep in payments for years: Head of Product at TrueLayer, then co-founder of BVNK, and now building Lorum to tackle the hardest layer of the stack: global clearing. We get into: Why payments becomes an obsession if you look closely enoughWhat “rebuilding clearing from the ground up” actually means, in plain EnglishVirtual accounts, ledgering, Swift, and why settlement speed still mattersThe real opportunity: fixing dollar clearing and cross border flowsHow Lorum makes money, and why being “payments only” changes the incentivesThe fundraising sprint, choosing Northzone, and what great investors actually do day to dayThe hardest part early on: banking reality versus licensing theory in the Middle EastHow George runs transparency, morale, and intensity during high growthA simple lesson for founders: do not start a company unless you care deeply about the problem

    27 min
See All (236)

Trailer

About

Riding Unicorns is a podcast featuring the world's best minds from venture and startups. Hosted by VCs James Pringle and Hector Mason, the show explores what it takes to build and back successful tech unicorns. Each episode features conversations with top founders, operators, and investors unpacking the strategies, challenges, and insights behind scaling category-defining companies. From fundraising and product-market fit to hiring, growth, and beyond, no topic is off-limits. Whether you're a founder, VC, angel investor, or just curious about the world of startups, you’ll find valuable takeaways in every episode.

Information

You Might Also Like