European VC Digest: 2021. The Brexit Drama. Everyone Can Create. More DeepTech Startups.
Capital Call #26
This is your weekly newsletter highlighting what investors in European startups are thinking—in their own words. We are Willy Braun, Nicolas Colin and Vincent Touati-Tomas. Hit reply if you want to send us feedback!
We’re back! 2021 is poised to be an exciting one for European tech startups. China is trying to replace the US as a preferred destination for foreign capital, as is Europe. With Capital Call, we want to keep highlighting what investors in European startups are thinking—in their own words.
Here’s what we achieved in 2020: 25 editions, 216 European investors featured, more than 450 articles, interviews, podcasts and Twitter threads! Let’s say that in 2021 we want more of that, but also to see the quality go up and to expand in terms of formats—for instance by launching the Capital Call podcast, which we’ll start recording in the coming days! Stay tuned.
And now, on to today’s edition 👇
Shamillah Bankiya 🇬🇧 and Daniela Raffel 🇬🇧 of Dawn Capital study the market of digital workspace solutions in their article and slideshow Building the future enterprise digital workspace.
Philippe Botteri 🇫🇷 of Accel is looking back at 5 years of Brexit drama and what it means for startups in Europe: Brexit deal: What Start-ups Need to Know.
Zoë Chambers 🇬🇧 of Octopus Ventures argues in favor of deploying more European capital in deeptech startups: Europe needs to back more deeptech startups.
Re-read Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷’s initial (skeptical) article about deeptech: Is investing in 'deeptech' a good move for Europe's VCs? Also, Bill Janeway, a veteran VC with Warburg Pincus, just joined the discussion in DeepTech: Many Roads May Lead There, But There’s Only One Rome.
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 of The Family (and co-host of Capital Call) explains the new paradigm he characterized as an “Entrepreneurial Age” and the reason why he focuses on Europe in My Worldview in 10 Ideas.
Sarah Drinkwater 🇬🇧 shares key insights derived from her experience as an angel investor with Atomico: What I learnt taking part in Atomico’s angel program.
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧, a venture partner with Mosaic Ventures, lays out the reasons why European startups are thriving, with many more unicorns and global tech diffusion: The End of the American Internet.
Check out a related presentation when it comes to Europe on Ben’s website: Europe, unicorns and global tech diffusion—as well as an interview with Sifted: Benedict Evans: “Everyone can now create”.
Christoph Janz 🇩🇪 of Point Nine Capital discusses the concept of growth persistence, which makes growth rates fairly predictable in the SaaS space: Persistence and predictability of SaaS growth.
Jean de La Rochebrochard 🇫🇷 of Kima Ventures and New Wave, writes about the many strange things he observes when startups raise their seed round: Absurd Seed Rounds Arguments.
Yannick Oswald 🇱🇺 of Mangrove Partners predicts that winners will be able to constantly adapt to change in 2021: The year of the Bold and Brave.
Andre Retterath 🇩🇪 of Earlybird Venture Capital talks about how data-driven tools can improve how VCs operate and the dynamics at play in The Future of VC: Augmenting Humans with AI.
Leo Ringer 🇬🇧 of Form Ventures makes the case for a better regulation around liquidity, since exits are the lifeblood of any entrepreneurial ecosystem: Don’t make it harder for startups to exit.
Roxanne Varza 🇺🇸🇫🇷, an angel investor with Atomico, has some optimism to share with her community and stresses Station F’s continued support for diverse founders: Reflections on 2020 and looking to 2021.
Mattias Lljungman 🇸🇪 of Moonfire Ventures shares his views about the future of venture capital in Europe: Building the next Generation of VC funds for Europe.
Paul Murphy 🇺🇸 of Northzone, Simon Schmincke 🇩🇪 of Creandum, Harry Briggs 🇬🇧 of OMERS Ventures and Jordi Viñas 🇪🇸 of Nauta Capital, looks back on 2020 European tech and predictions for the future: Europe’s Top Investors Reveal What’s Next For European Tech In 2021.
Shamillah Bankiya 🇬🇧 VC & Growth Investor, Dawn Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Philippe Botteri 🇫🇷 Partner, Accel, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Harry Briggs 🇬🇧 Managing Partner, OMERS Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Zoë Chambers 🇬🇧 Principal, Octopus Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 Co-Founder & Director, The Family, Munich 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Sarah Drinkwater 🇬🇧 Angel Investor, Atomico, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧 Venture Partner, Entrepreneur First & Mosaic Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Christoph Janz 🇩🇪 Partner, Point Nine Capital, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Jean de La Rochebrochard 🇫🇷 Managing Partner, Kima Ventures & Co-Founder, New Wave Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Mattias Ljungman 🇸🇪 Founder, Moonfire Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Paul Murphy 🇺🇸 General Partner, Northzone, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Yannick Oswald 🇱🇺 Principal, Mangrove Capital Partners, Luxembourg 🇱🇺 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Dianela Raffel Torrebiarte 🇬🇧 VC Investor, Dawn Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Andre Retterath 🇩🇪 Principal, Earlybird Venture Capital, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Leo Ringer 🇬🇧 Founding Partner, Form Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Simon Schmincke 🇩🇪 General Partner, Creandum, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Roxanne Varza 🇺🇸🇫🇷 Angel Investor, Atomico, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter
Jordi Viñas 🇪🇸 General Partner, Nauta Capital, Barcelona 🇪🇸