Why Europe’s Venture Capital Needs a Mindset Reboot | Andy Goldstein

🎧 Opening:

Why do Europe’s startups scale slower than their U.S. counterparts? In this raw, revealing episode, Andy Goldstein uncovers what’s really holding back the European venture capital scene—and what we can do about it.

💡 What You'll Learn:

• How investor education can radically improve VC decision-making

• Why German founders hesitate to internationalize—and how to fix it

• The mindset shift European investors need to unlock global-scale success

• How AI sales tools and founder conviction can drive early-stage growth

👤 Guest Spotlight:

Andy Goldstein, Managing Director Europe at VU Venture Partners and Co-Founder of the German Accelerator, is a serial entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, and innovation catalyst. With decades of experience across the U.S. and Europe, he’s reshaping how VCs invest—and how startups scale.

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✅ Show Notes

Guest Name: Andy Goldstein, Managing Director Europe, VU Venture Partners
Blog Post: http://startuprad.io/post/the-transatlantic-investment-divide-why-europe-needs-a-new-vc-mindset

Relevant Resources:

• VU Venture Partners

• German Accelerator

Timestamps:

• 00:00 – Introduction to Andy’s journey from IBM to VC

• 06:00 – What’s broken in European VC mindsets

• 12:45 – How VU trains VCs through real investments

• 20:50 – Sales culture differences: Germany vs. U.S.

• 28:15 – Startup internationalization: Why Germany lags

• 35:30 – Traits of the top 1% of founders

• 42:00 – Final thoughts + podcast wrap-up