European VC Digest: Europe Coming of Age; Tech Valuations; Cap Table Nightmares.
Capital Call #11
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.
This is the second edition following the Summer break. It seems European VCs are busy catching up and starting a new year of (promising?) business—which apparently doesn’t leave much time for writing or participating in interviews 😅
So here’s a short issue 👇
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.
Alex Barkley 🇬🇧 of HSBC Ventures wrote a piece to help founders avoid a well-known pitfall when it comes to selling to corporates: What startups need to know about corporate procurement.
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 of The Family (and co-host of Capital Call) plays the devil’s advocate in this Sifted column about Rocket Internet: European startup pariah — or pioneer?
Laura Connell 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇸🇾 of Balderton uncovers the not-so-secret formulas for valuing startups with recurring revenue: European Tech Valuations - Not all Recurring Revenue is Created Equal.
Louis Coppey 🇫🇷 of Point Nine Capital makes the case for a too-often overlooked hire in European startups: Why founders should hire a Product Manager after raising a seed round.
Alexandre Dewez 🇫🇷 of IdInvest has developed a new habit: he collects an interesting piece of tech news every day. Here’s August 2020 in retrospect: 🗞 Venture Chronicles - August 2020.
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧, venture partner with both Entrepreneur First and Mosaic Ventures, is back to writing about Amazon: Amazon's profits, AWS and advertising.
Matthew Jones 🇬🇧 of Anthemis has a look at UK-based startups entering the insurance industry: InsureTechConnect’s World Tour Lands In The UK (Part 1 of 2).
Pauliina Martikainen 🇫🇮 of Maki.vc explains what a brand-driven company is and what investors pay attention to in that space: Brand-driven investment — what is it, and could it apply to your startup?
Michael Rabinowicz 🇸🇪🇬🇧, General Counsel at Mangrove Capital Partners, writes about a typically European problem: Cap Table Nightmares: Tales from the VC Crypt.
Gonz Sanchez 🇦🇷, an angel investor and publisher of Seedtable, writes about The Rise of Gymshark: Winning CPG Through Loops and Mimetic Theory.
Olav Ostin 🇫🇷 of TempoCap vouches for letting startup employees cash out sooner rather than later in Sifted, explaining why it’s good for everyone: Let your employees cash out.
Jordi Altimira 🇪🇸of UpBizor & Lánzame Capital, Megan Reynolds 🇬🇧of Crane Venture Partners, Benoît Marrel 🇫🇷 of Breega, and Peter Specht 🇩🇪 at Creandum have a conversation over Zoom about current trends in the European VC industry and the impact of COVID-19: Tendencies in the European Venture Capital - #webinUP 24
Matt Clifford 🇬🇧 of Entrepreneur First wrote a column in July about the history of ambition, and the lessons we can draw to become better builders: An Ambitious Future.
Back in 2019, Christoph Janz 🇩🇪 of Point Nine Capital wrote a letter to his friends who are angel investors—apparently, they all want to raise a fund: 8 reasons why you shouldn’t raise a VC fund (and 4 why I love being a VC regardless).
Sanna Westman 🇸🇪 of Creandum re-tweeted this guide for careful founders who want to know How to do due diligence on investors.
Jordi Altimira 🇪🇸 Partner & CEO, UpBizor & Lánzame Capital, Barcelona 🇪🇸 LinkedIn | Twitter
Alex Barkley 🇬🇧Portfolio Manager, HSBC Ventures, London 🇬🇧 Linkedin | Twitter
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 Co-Founder & Director, The Family, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Matt Clifford 🇬🇧 Co-Founder & CEO, Entrepreneur First, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Laura Connell 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇸🇾 Principal, Balderton, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Louis Coppey 🇫🇷 Principal, Point Nine Capital, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Alexandre Dewez 🇫🇷 Analyst, Idinvest, Paris 🇫🇷 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
Matthew Jones 🇬🇧 Principal, Anthemis, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Beata Klein 🇸🇪 Investment Analyst, Creandum, Stockholm 🇸🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter| Blog
Benoît Marrel 🇫🇷 Founder & Managing Partner, Breega, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn
Pauliina Martikainen 🇫🇮 Investment Director, Maki.vc, Helsinki 🇫🇮 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Olav Ostin 🇫🇷 Managing Partner, TempoCap, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn
Michael Rabinowicz 🇸🇪🇬🇧 General Counsel, Mangrove Capital Partners, Luxembourg 🇱🇺 LinkedIn | Blog
Megan Reynolds 🇬🇧 Investor, Crane Venture Partners, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Gonz Sanchez 🇦🇷 Angel investor, Barcelona 🇪🇸 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Peter Specht 🇩🇪Principal, Creandum, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter
Sanna Westman 🇸🇪 Investment Manager, Creandum, Stockholm 🇸🇪 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!