European VC Digest: A New French Unicorn; Antifragile Portfolios; Highly Effective VCs.
Capital Call #10
This is Capital Call, a weekly newsletter highlighting what investors in European startups are thinking—in their own words. We are Willy Braun, Nicolas Colin, and Vincent Touati-Tomas, and you can find out more about the newsletter and who’s featured in it here: About Capital Call.
We’re back! This is a special issue since we have to catch up on everything European VCs published over the past month—and they’ve been busy 😅
Starting next week, we’ll be working on building a complete database so that you (a founder, an LP, or a fellow VC) can access every piece and person that we’ve featured. Stay tuned!
Finally, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to be kept in the loop at all times: @CapitalCall_. Also follow our two Twitter lists: Featured in Capital Call & Female VCs in Europe.
Beatrice Aliprandi 🇮🇹 of Talis Capital suggests we switch the focus to the specific challenges of female healthcare: In a man’s world, female healthcare is a missed opportunity. Period.
Brett Bivens 🇺🇸🇫🇷 of TechNexus is repositioning his newsletter Venture Desktop to focus on the rise of interesting companies: The Rise: Video Games, Facebook, and LVMH.
Suranga Chandratillake 🇬🇧 of Balderton realizes few people on the outside understand who does what at a VC firm, and shares a few tips: What job titles mean in VC and how to navigate them.
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 of The Family (and co-host of Capital Call) has compiled everything that he wrote about VC since 2015: My Writings on Venture Capital.
Alexandre Dewez 🇫🇷 sent out a detailed piece about fast-growing gaming startup Voodoo and their welcoming Tencent as an investor: 🎮 Voodoo Games Deep Dive - Another French Unicorn is Born.
Also by Alexandre: 🗺 Y Combinator - Summer Batch 2020
Gil Dibner 🇺🇸🇮🇱 of Angular Ventures collected all the data and provides a compelling overview of VC activity in Europe & Israel: The Data: Enterprise & Deep Tech VC in Europe & Israel.
Also check out Dil’s podcast conversation with Mehdi Benjelloun of Baby VC: On the keys to succeed as a VC 🎧
Sarah Drinkwater 🇬🇧, who invests as a scout for Atomico, writes that enough is enough: Europe needs an angel investing revolution.
Ha Duong 🇩🇪🇻🇳 has moved from Cambrial Capital to Ocean Investment, and is still writing great pieces about LPs in Europe: How Emerging Venture Capital Fund Managers Should Think About Their LP Fundraising Strategies.
Also check out Ha’s previous piece: Structural Problems In The European Venture Capital LP Landscape And Why It Matters.
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧 pursues his analysis of how the pandemic has changed the Internet economy, this time with a focus on online sales: The ecommerce surge.
Robert Gaal 🇳🇱 makes the case for considering seasoned operators as investors and writes about Operator Exchange: Startups are hard. We know.
Dmitry Kuzmin of 4BIO Capital tells us why discovering new therapies is hard and Why we still won't be prepared for the next pandemic.
Bérénice Magistretti 🇨🇭, herself an angel investor, talked diversity with Day One Ventures’s Masha Drokova: “Diversity Is The Foundation For An Antifragile Portfolio”.
Finn Murphy 🇮🇪 of Frontline Ventures teaches founders about exploiting VCs’ weakest spot: All aboard the Hype Train: How to maximise FOMO while raising VC.
Deepali Nangia 🇮🇳🇬🇧, an angel investor with Atomico, reflects on 2020 and how it has changed our lives (if at all): The Small Work in the Great Work.
Sarah Nöckel 🇩🇪 of Northzone reflects on good CEOs and what they have in common with athletes: The Athlete CEO: The secrets of owning your odds and changing the certainty of success.
Bruno Raillard 🇫🇷 of Frst is fed up with Americans (in this case, Jason Calacanis) being ignorant about the French startup scene: Time to think differently about France.
Kjartan Rist 🇬🇧 laments the sad state of the LP landscape in Europe and explains why Family Offices Can Propel The EU Venture Capital Ecosystem.
Eze Vidra 🇬🇧🇮🇱 of Remagine Ventures writes about becoming a better venture capitalist and how you can achieve this through your daily routine: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective VCs.
Also check out Eze’s recent (and inspiring) conversation with Gonz Sanchez on the Seedtable Podcast: On Building Tech Ecosystems 🎧
Berthold Baurek-Karlic 🇦🇹, a seasoned angel investor, would like to set the record straight: “Our own governments have the impression European tech is not good enough. Are you serious?”.
Jeannette zu Fürstenberg 🇩🇪 and Judith Dada 🇩🇪 of Berlin-based VC firm La Famiglia talk about raising a new €50M fund: La Famiglia raises €50m fund with all-star LP backing.
Jonathan Hollis 🇬🇧 talks about what it’s been like to leave PwC and launch Mountside Ventures during the pandemic: Opportunity amongst uncertainty.
Mattias Ljungman 🇸🇪, founder of VC firm Atomico and now Moonfire, was interviewed by Robin Wauters of Tech EU: An interview with Atomico & Moonfire founder Mattias Ljungman 🎧
Yannick Oswald 🇱🇺 of Mangrove Capital Partners was interviewed about Lisbon as an entrepreneurial ecosystem and a city: Lisbon is a really cool city.
Beatrice Aliprandi 🇮🇹 Principal, Talis Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Berthold Baurek-Karlic 🇦🇹 Founder & Managing Partner, Venionaire Capital, Vienna 🇦🇹 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Brett Bivens 🇺🇸🇫🇷 Venture Investor, TechNexus, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Suranga Chandratillake 🇬🇧 General Partner, Balderton, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 Co-Founder & Director, The Family, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Judith Dada 🇩🇪 Partner, La Famiglia, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter
Fred Destin 🇧🇪 Founder, Stride.VC, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Alexandre Dewez 🇫🇷 Analyst, Idinvest, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Gil Dibner 🇺🇸 Founder & General Partner, Angular Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Sarah Drinkwater 🇬🇧 Angel Investor, Atomico, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Ha Duong 🇩🇪🇻🇳 Investment Principal, Ocean Investment, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧 Venture Partner, Entrepreneur First & Mosaic Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Jeannette zu Fürstenberg 🇩🇪Founding Partner, La Famiglia, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn
Robert Gall 🇳🇱 Member of the Angel Program, Atomico, London 🇬🇧 Linkedin | Twitter | Blog
Jonathan Hollis 🇬🇧Managing Partner, Mountside Ventures, London 🇬🇧 | LinkedIn | Twitter
Dmitry Kuzmin 🇷🇺 Managing Partner, 4BIO Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Mattias Ljungman 🇸🇪 Founder, Moonfire Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Bérénice Magistretti 🇨🇭 Angel Investor, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Finn Murphy 🇮🇪 Principal, Frontline Ventures, Dublin 🇮🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Deepali Nangia 🇬🇧Angel Investor, Scout, Atomico 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Sarah Nöckel 🇩🇪 Investment Manager, Northzone, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Yannick Oswald 🇱🇺 Principal, Mangrove Capital Partners, Luxembourg 🇱🇺 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Bruno Raillard 🇫🇷Co-Founder & Partner, Frst, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Kjartan Rist 🇬🇧 Founding Partner, Concentric, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Eze Vidra 🇬🇧🇮🇱 Managing Partner, Remagine Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
We are Willy Braun 🇫🇷, Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 and Vincent Touati-Tomas 🇫🇷. We work as investors and operators in the European VC industry. Hit reply if you want to send us feedback!