Episodios

  • VC | E529 | EUVC Impact Highlights: A New Era of Climate Tech VC—with Fabian Heilemann

    VC | E529 | EUVC Impact Highlights: A New Era of Climate Tech VC—with Fabian Heilemann
    Jul 23 2025
    Welcome to the Impact Highlight series, powered by EUVC, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

    This week, August Solliv is joined by Fabian Heilemann, founding partner at AENU, a climate-focused Article 9 fund reshaping what institutional-grade impact investing looks like in Europe.

    A former serial entrepreneur turned VC heavyweight, Fabian spent nearly a decade at Earlybird before launching AENU alongside his brother. Today, he leads a €170M early-stage climate tech fund with one clear mission: backing ventures that can decarbonize at gigaton scale.

    In this episode, we dive into Fabian’s journey from angel investor missteps to system-level innovation, and what it takes to truly build an impact-native VC platform—beyond surface-level ESG.

    We talk about why the old fund structures don’t cut it for deep tech and climate moonshots, what real accountability looks like for impact metrics, and why mission-aligned founders are starting to demand more than just capital.

    🎯 This Episode’s Themes
    • Why Fabian walked away from generalist VC to go all-in on climate
    • The hard truths of raising an evergreen fund in a bear market
    • What it takes to measure impact—beyond the marketing slide
    • How AENU’s founders “walk the talk” in company operations
    • Why biodiversity collapse may hit harder than climate
    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 00:00 | Meet Fabian: From founder to Earlybird GP to climate VC
    • 03:30 | When the science became too loud to ignore
    • 06:00 | Early mistakes in angel investing—and how it shaped AENU
    • 08:45 | Building AENU: Clean slate, pure play, Article 9
    • 12:00 | Impact metrics that matter: CO₂e saved or removed
    • 15:30 | Walking the talk: Travel policy, green ops & founder integrity
    • 18:45 | Challenging the 10-year VC fund model
    • 22:30 | Why climate tech exits need more patient capital
    • 26:00 | The failed evergreen experiment—and what it taught them
    • 30:00 | Climate vs. biodiversity: The next systemic wave
    • 33:30 | Why Sequoia won’t fix this—but emerging managers might
    • 36:15 | Founder redemptions: Building for impact after fast commerce
    • 40:00 | The reality of fundraising as an impact-first VC
    • 43:00 | AENU’s three pillars: Energy, decarb & climate adaptation
    Más Menos
    47 m
  • CVC | E528 | Reinventing with Venture: How Corporates Can Actually Innovate

    CVC | E528 | Reinventing with Venture: How Corporates Can Actually Innovate
    Jul 22 2025
    In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm and Jeppe Høier sit down with Florian Noell, PwC’s Global Venturing & EMEA Startups & Scale-ups Leader. Florian draws on his rare blend of experience as a founder, ecosystem advocate, and now corporate innovator to unpack the evolution—and missed opportunities—of corporate venture capital across Europe.

    They delve deeply into what distinguishes enduring CVCs from the 3.7-year average lifespan, how to avoid wasting money as a corporate angel, and the structural shifts needed to transition from optics to outcomes. With both realism and optimism, this is a masterclass on corporate-startup collaboration done right—and wrong.

    This one’s for ecosystem builders, corporate strategists, and VCs looking to make CVC work in the long term.

    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 02:10 | Two Hats, One Mission: How Florian Took His Founder Lens to PwC
    • 05:50 | What Great Corporate-Startup Collaboration Looks Like
    • 08:30 | Why CVCs Die After 3.7 Years—and How to Beat the Odds
    • 11:20 | Structuring for Success: The 10 Building Blocks to a Lasting CVC
    • 14:00 | Venture Clienting vs. Venture Investing
    • 17:40 | The Case for Later-Stage Investing—If You Can Afford It
    • 21:15 | LP Investing as a Smart Starting Point
    • 25:50 | Policy’s Role: Useful, But Not the Magic Fix
    • 30:00 | Changing the Corporate Mindset
    • 34:00 | Why Corporates Don’t Reinvent Themselves—And What to Do About It
    Más Menos
    40 m
  • VC | E527 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax

    VC | E527 | This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax
    Jul 21 2025
    Welcome back to another episode of the EUVC Podcast, your trusted inside track on the people, deals, and dynamics shaping European venture.

    This week, Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen of SuperSeed and Lomax from Outsized Ventures, gather to unpack the macro forces and micro signals shaping European tech and venture.

    They dive into the EU’s latest corporate structure reforms, the battle with resistant notaries, and the implications for startup formation and cross-border investing. Then it’s onto LLM innovation in China, valuation exuberance in AI, and the strategic shifts in capital allocation. The group finishes by zooming out on macro policy, sovereignty debates, and a cautious optimism for European tech.

    Whether you’re an investor, founder, or policymaker trying to navigate Europe’s choppy regulatory waters — this one’s for you.

    Here’s what’s covered
    • 02:00 | Startup law, friction, and EU Inc.
    • 06:30 | The SAFE envy
    • 09:30 | Founders as fund managers — and vice versa
    • 12:00 | From Pink Floyd to trillion-parameter models
    • 17:30 | Capital efficiency and compute arbitrage
    • 21:00 | UK startup ecosystem: a shadow of its former self?
    • 25:00 | Fundraising cycles and trapped capital
    • 28:00 | D2C health — a comeback?
    • 31:00 | Crypto week in Europe?
    • 35:00 | Macro clouds and haven-hunting
    Más Menos
    57 m
  • VC | E526 | Path to Market: Adapting Sales Strategies for Startups and Enterprise with Fanny Talagrand of Stripe

    VC | E526 | Path to Market: Adapting Sales Strategies for Startups and Enterprise with Fanny Talagrand of Stripe
    Jul 20 2025
    In the latest episode of “Path to Market,” Natasha and Micah are joined by Fanny Talagrand, Head of EMEA sales for startups and SMBs at Stripe to discuss key sales strategies from startups to enterprises. Drawing from her extensive experience in global tech companies like Google Cloud and Stripe, Fanny emphasizes the importance of understanding user needs and journeys, leveraging user feedback, and the different dynamics between selling to startups versus enterprises.

    She also provides advice for hiring the first sales reps, highlighting the need for candidates to be smart, driven, and coachable. She stresses the significance of onboarding processes and embedding new hires with users early on. Additionally, she explores how to balance product-led growth with enterprise sales and shares metrics to optimize sales performance.

    Tune in to learn about:
    • how to align sales strategies with the needs and journeys of different types of users;
    • how PLG and enterprise motions can coexist with careful planning and differentiation in user journeys;
    • why as companies grow, including a sales team becomes vital to extend market reach and support users who require more comprehensive solutions;
    • and more practical strategies for founders looking to enhance their sales operations and build successful teams.
    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 00:00 Introduction to Fannie Talegrand
    • 00:46 Fannie’s Career Journey
    • 03:11 Comparing Sales Strategies at Google Cloud and Stripe
    • 09:02 Product-Led vs. Enterprise Motion
    • 12:13 Sales Metrics and Funnel Optimization
    • 15:14 Differences in Selling to Startups vs. Enterprises
    • 22:50 Hiring the Right Sales Leader
    • 33:11 Onboarding New Sales Hires
    • 38:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
    Más Menos
    41 m
  • VC | E525 | Jean Schmitt & Rob Blackie on the State of RNA in Europe & the TechBio Opportunity

    VC | E525 | Jean Schmitt & Rob Blackie on the State of RNA in Europe & the TechBio Opportunity
    Jul 19 2025
    In this week's podcast, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Jean Schmitt at Jolt Capital and Rob Blackie at Crampton Blackie to explore one of the most consequential deep tech opportunities Europe faces: RNA. With roots in foundational biology and applications from cancer therapy to precision agriculture, RNA is both a symbol and a stress test of Europe’s capacity to scale science into sovereignty.

    The conversation is based on their Landmark 2025 Report on the State of RNA in Europe, a data-rich, in-depth analysis of patents, funding flows, regulatory bottlenecks, and startup activity across the continent.

    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 03:05 The State of RNA in Europe
    • 05:59 Challenges in Commercialization and Investment
    • 09:09 The Landscape of RNA Companies in Europe
    • 15:02 Regulatory Challenges in RNA Development
    • 17:58 The Future of RNA in Europe
    • 26:54 Navigating Regulatory Challenges in Biocontrol Products
    • 30:46 The Impact of European Policies on Innovation
    • 32:41 Learning from Global Regulatory Practices
    • 40:34 The Exodus of Talent and Innovation from Europe
    • 45:59 Funding Challenges for RNA Companies in Europe
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    57 m
  • VC | E524 | Carlos Trenchs on Spain’s Emerging Fund Manager Wave & The Return of the Founder-Backer

    VC | E524 | Carlos Trenchs on Spain’s Emerging Fund Manager Wave & The Return of the Founder-Backer
    Jul 18 2025
    In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm talks with Carlos Trenchs — early-stage investor — about the new wave of entrepreneurs in Spain: those who’ve exited, raised again, and are now backing the next wave. They dive into the rise of Spain’s emerging managers, the structural limitations new fund managers face when fundraising, and how institutional platforms can solve them.

    Carlos shares insights on how his team is designing a new type of investment structure — one that serves both fund-of-fund limited partners (LPs) and those deeply committed to ecosystem development. From syndicate-style collaboration to collective capital and US micro-fund inspiration, Carlos unpacks the anatomy of the new European seed scene.

    Whether you’re building a micro fund, exploring Spain’s founder-led evolution, or curious about how fund design is adapting to new LP profiles — this one’s for you.

    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 00:00 The Rise of Repeat Founders: From Glovo to Preval and beyond
    • 03:15 Why Founders Become Emerging Managers
    • 05:42 The Fundraising Gap for New Managers
    • 08:10 Co-investing and Scouting for Ecosystem Development
    • 11:35 Challenges of Hybrid Investment Models
    • 14:00 Case Study: Transcend — A $1.5M EdTech Concept Fund
    • 17:20 Collective Capital: When LPs Roll Up Their Sleeves
    • 19:45 Closing Thoughts & Invitation to Meet in Barcelona
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    34 m
  • VC | E523 | Why Solo GPs Are Europe’s Secret Weapon

    VC | E523 | Why Solo GPs Are Europe’s Secret Weapon
    Jul 16 2025
    Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

    This week, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Sarah Drinkwater, Founding Partner at Common Magic, and Anthony Danon, Founder at Rerail, for a deep dive into the rise of solo GPs and micro funds in Europe. Together, they unpack the forces driving this new wave of intentional, nimble VC—why it’s working, how it's evolving, and what it takes to win.

    It’s a conversation that builds on their stage debate at the EUVC Summit—this time going deeper into headless rounds, syndication dynamics, the next generation of angel investors, and the very real personal decisions behind going solo.

    🎯 This Episode’s Themes:
    • Why the solo GP model fits today’s best founders
    • The rise of “headless rounds” and what makes them work
    • The art (and risk) of conviction without consensus
    • The future of angels, from weekend warriors to fund managers
    • What’s next for micro funds in Europe—and why some won’t make it
    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 00:22 | Solo Love: The magic of being founder-picked and founder-aligned
    • 01:30 | Angel Roots: Why Sarah and Anthony bet small before going big
    • 04:00 | Market Dynamics: The squeeze between seed giants and multistage platforms
    • 06:30 | Why Small Wins: Flexibility, focus, and belief in outlier founders
    • 09:00 | Micro Syndication: Why solo GPs are finally co-leading in Europe
    • 13:00 | The Reserve Question: What happens when founders need more capital?
    • 16:00 | Conviction Building: The difference between borrowing belief and earning it
    • 20:00 | Headless Rounds: The founder-led raise and its pros and cons
    • 24:30 | Next Round Realities: Why leads don’t always do the heavy lifting
    • 27:00 | Angel Competition: How to win without bidding wars
    • 31:00 | Angel Education: Power law, concentration risk & the need for fresh blood
    • 38:00 | Going Solo: The case for building your own lemonade stand
    • 44:00 | The Big Firm Tradeoff: Coordination, politics, and the limits of scale
    • 47:00 | Looking Ahead: What’s next for Europe’s micro fund wave
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    1 h y 1 m
  • VC | E522 | Venture Beyond: Coaching Founders, VCs & the Inner Work of Building Well

    VC | E522 | Venture Beyond: Coaching Founders, VCs & the Inner Work of Building Well
    Jul 15 2025
    In this episode, Andreas Munk Holm is joined by Colin Knight, a leading coach in the startup ecosystem, and Mike Reiner, co-founder of 432 Legacy, to dive deep into the emotional and relational dynamics that power — and often derail — the venture journey.

    This conversation is part of the Venture Beyond initiative: a space to reflect on the human side of venture, supporting founders and investors in building intentional teams, resilient cultures, and sustainable energy for the long game.

    Here’s what’s covered:
    • 02:15 – What is Venture Beyond? (feat. 432 Legacy & Stride VC)
    • 05:00 – “Peeling the Onion”: Relationships → Team → Role → Self
    • 10:30 – Power dynamics and pitching: resetting the foundation
    • 22:00 – The myth of pleasing and the power of check-ins
    • 29:00 – Why VC firms struggle as teams
    • 38:00 – Role transitions: letting go of identity and control
    • 44:00 – The “Colin Column”: Why am I doing this?
    • 47:00 – The Self: Paying the price of transformation
    • 49:00 – Outcome addiction vs. joy in the journey
    • 55:00 – Energy is everything: what drains you, what fuels you
    • 57:30 – Finding your inner peace in a mad world
    Más Menos
    1 h y 1 m