European VC Digest: Chasing Dreams. Joining the VC Industry. The Gig Economy. AI in Europe.
Capital Call #19
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. Hit reply if you want to send us feedback!
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.
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 of The Family (and co-host of Capital Call) writes about the gig economy and the need for a new social contract in Sifted: Time for a new social contract for the gig economy.
Andrea Di Pietrantonio 🇮🇹, Portfolio Operations Director at Inventure, writes about the challenge of providing founders with operational services: Reflections on 3 years of finding a product/market fit inside a venture fund.
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧 tackles the complex subject of market definition, using global examples such as Amazon and Apple: Market definitions and tech monopolies.
Lillian Li 🇨🇳🇬🇧 once again delivers a great piece on Chinese tech (notably with the latest Ant Group saga, which is just beginning): The Ant Group IPO Part 1.
Jeremy Luzinda 🇬🇧 of Playfair Capital shares his (inspiring) journey to VC after two months in an internship, and he’s excited about what’s next: Why I Joined Playfair?
Julia Morrongiello 🇨🇭 of Point Nine Capital continues her tour of key metrics for marketplace builders: WTF is share of wallet and HTF do you measure it?
Finn Murphy 🇮🇪 of Frontline Ventures warns against losing yourself in too much work: Chasing dreams in a fast world.
Kjartan Rist 🇬🇧 of Concentric Ventures asks if venture capital can be really taught, and how fellow investors can find their style: Can Venture Capital Be Taught?.
Peter Specht 🇩🇪 of Creandum has created a simplified calculator for marketplaces, emphasizing net revenue and contribution margin size: B2B marketplace: Is my market size large enough?
Jeevan Sunner 🇬🇧 of Playfair Capital shares the 4th edition of “Female Founders Office Hours”. What were its highlights? Female Founder Office Hours Edition IV: Meet the Investors Part IV.
Eze Vidra 🇦🇷🇮🇱🇬🇧 of Remagine Ventures writes about the Israeli ecosystem and the latest trends in VC there: Israeli venture capital broke new records in Q3 2020, but seed rounds are massively down.
Also by Eze, check out this more recent essay on the importance of picking the right niche for launching a product: Riches in Niches.
Nathan Benaich 🇬🇧 of Air Street Capital announces he’s raised a $17M fund to back early-stage “AI-native” founders, sharing more with CNBC: Twitter and Google’s head of A.I. just backed a new VC fund — here’s why.
Judith Hartley 🇬🇧, CEO of British Patient Capital, discusses plans for the future in Sifted: British Patient Capital: The UK's largest startup investor.
Mina Mutafchieva 🇵🇱 of Dawn Capital shares the type of entrepreneurs she’s keen to back and why the firm believes that hiring is the core skill founders need: Evaluating CEOs on Their Ability to Build a Kick Arse Team!
Nathan Benaich 🇬🇧 General Partner, Air Street Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Nicolas Colin 🇫🇷 Co-Founder & Director, The Family, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Andrea Di Pietrantonio 🇮🇹 Portfolio Operations Director, Inventure, Helsinki 🇫🇮 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Benedict Evans 🇬🇧 Venture Partner, Entrepreneur First & Mosaic Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Judith Hartley 🇬🇧 CEO, British Patient Capital, London 🇬🇧
Beata Klein 🇸🇪 Associate, Creandum, Stockholm 🇸🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Mounir Laggoune 🇫🇷 Angel Investor, Paris 🇫🇷 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Lillian Li 🇨🇳🇬🇧 (formerly) Investor, Eight Roads Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Jeremy Luzinda 🇬🇧 Playfair Capital, London 🇬🇧 Linkedin | Twitter | Blog
Julia Morrongiello 🇨🇭 Associate, Point Nine Capital, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Peter Specht 🇩🇪 Principal, Creandum, Berlin 🇩🇪 LinkedIn | Twitter
Jeevan Sunner 🇬🇧 Investor, Playfair Capital, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter
Eze Vidra 🇦🇷🇮🇱🇬🇧 Managing Partner, Remagine Ventures, London 🇬🇧 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog
Nico Wittenborn 🇩🇪 Investor, Adjacent, distributed 🌐 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blog