Venture Views
Venture Views: Two Magnolias on a mission to embrace diversity every step of the way
Real Deals' Shivani Khandekar catches up with co-founders Jessica Rasmussen and Marie Korde to understand the importance of diversity in venture capital and what makes their firm stand out
Venture Views: Zebra Impact eyes smorgasbord of agrifood investment opportunities
Real Deals' Shivani Khandekar sits down with co-founder Fabio Sofia to understand the impact investor’s thesis and fundraising plans
Venture Views: Target Global co-founder discusses an up-and-down year
Real Deals sits down with Yaron Valler to get his perspective on down rounds, the firm’s Israeli investments and the outlook for VC in 2024
Venture Views: ETF Partners’ Patrick Sheehan discusses how sustainable investment can beat the downturn
The co-founder and managing partner also shares his mantra for being active during a dip
Venture Views: Emma Ventures completes first lead investment
Real Deals speaks with co-founders Christian Diller and Katja Baur to learn how diversity is integral to the VC firm’s ethos
Venture Views: Creative Control Ventures’ Alex El-Nemer on backing celebrity businesses
Real Deals sat down with Alex El-Nemer, co-founder and co-CEO of Creative Control Ventures, to discuss how the emerging firm partners with celebrities to help them build their businesses
Venture Views: Hoxton Ventures’ Hussein Kanji discusses navigating a complex market
Real Deals meets up with the VC's boss Hussein Kanji to discuss the firm's future, the collapse of SVB, and the art and science of picking winners.
Venture Views: Bullnet Capital’s Javier Ulecia on its latest fund
Hot on the heels of announcing the first close on its fourth fund, Bullnet Capital's founding partner Javier Ulecia speaks to Real Deals about the firm's goals for the future.
Venture Views: bValue banks on maturing startup scene
Shivani Khandekar sits down with bValue founding partner Maciej Balsewicz and explores the VC firm’s ambition to tap into the needs of more mature CEE entrepreneurs.
All I want for Christmas: The VC wishlist
From a more settled valuations landscape to a greater sense of purpose in investing, leading venture players share what tops their Christmas list this year.
Q&A: Mike Reid on Frog Capital’s sharper ESG focus
Frog Capital partner Mike Reid talks to Shivani Khandekar about the growth investor’s approach to ESG and social impact, and how this meshes with its core focus on scaling European software businesses.
Venture Views: Capital Pilot’s approach to scoring investability of UK start-ups
Real Deals spoke to Richard Blakesley, founder and CEO of Capital Pilot, about the firm's unique investability ratings system and its first Boost Fund that is backing UK-based start-ups.
Venture Views: Valutico launches VC valuation solution
The Fintech firm has launched an innovative new online platform aimed at increasing accuracy of mid-to-late stage start-up valuations for VC firms.
Venture Views: Sentiment among VCs is “caution not concern” says SVB
The first half of 2022 was the second highest on record, confirming that there are still opportunities for businesses with a resilient model and a clear path to profitability, says Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).
Venture Views: Flurry of M&A predicted as start-ups shift gears
An uptick in M&A toward the end of 2022 is expected as start-ups consider an exit, or acquiring another company to expand existing operations, following a dramatic drop in funding and valuations.
Venture Views: Cornerstone VC launches new fund to back diverse founders
Contrary to perceptions around a pipeline problem for diversity-led investors, founders, Cornerstone VC has yet to see any evidence of that, says founder Rodney Appiah.
Venture Views: Support for Northern female founders “needs to move more quickly”
Northern female founders need greater support in the lead up to access funding, in order to secure investment, according to Helen Oldham, founder of Fund Her North.
Venture Views: Concept Ventures launches £50m pre-seed fund
With the £50m pre-seed fund, including a £30m cornerstone commitment from the British Business Bank’s Enterprise Capital Funds (ECF) programme, Concept Ventures plans to bring clarity back to the pre-seed stage.
Venture Views: VC and growth capital funds grow more selective in current climate
With an uncertain economic environment, it is much harder for venture investors to take a view on growth prospects, says Cleary Gottlieb partner Michael Preston.
Venture Views: Levelling Up: Lip service or an honest start?
Earlier this year, the UK Government announced plans to use venture capital as a vehicle to accelerate its Levelling Up agenda. Real Deals reached out to the VC community to find out how they feel about this.
Venture Views: VC goes beyond the capital
In such an uncertain economic environment, Praetura Ventures discusses how VC firms are having to do more to provide assurances to founders and management teams, beyond their capital investment.
Venture Views: Venture Debt set to proliferate further into EU/UK markets
William Chappel, head of venture debt at Shard Credit Partners, discusses the growing popularity of venture debt in the UK market ahead of the firm's first close of its maiden fund.
Venture Views: VCs and founders exercise greater selectivity around investments
Venture capital funds and start-ups are becoming more selective around the deals they accept and who they partner with.
Venture Views: Talent shortage threatens growth of tech industry
The current shortage of tech talent could be preventing start-ups from scaling efficiently.
Venture Views: Blockchain valuations climb despite market reset
Blockchain start-ups are not being impacted by a reset in valuation expectations that is impacting the majority of the venture capital space, it has been reported.
Venture Views: Another step closer to democratisation
AlphaQ is a VC fund-of-funds dedicated to delivering diversified VC market exposure to investors that previously haven’t been able to get access.
Venture Views: Riding the crypto wave
Lydia Hylton, partner at Bain Capital Crypto, and Vikash Singh, principal investor at Stillmark, discuss key trends in the crypto market.
Venture Views: Frontline Ventures - A bridge over the Atlantic
Frontline Ventures is perfectly placed between the US and EU to support growing businesses as they internationalise. Zoe Chambers and Stephen McIntyre, partners, UK and Ireland, discuss how they act as a bridge over the Atlantic.
Venture Views: Finance finally embraces the rise of the robots
Henry Alty, investment director at Gresham House Ventures, outlines the rising trend of VC investment in automation, an often overlooked segment of the technology market.
Venture Views: Funding remains a challenge for female entrepreneurs
For International Women's Day, Judith Hartley, CEO at British Patient Capital reflects on what needs to improve in VC to support female entrepreneurs.
Venture Views: Proposed UK insurance reforms could unlock billions for VC
Lord Wei of Shoreditch and Douglas Hansen-Luke, executive chairman of Future Planet Capital, told Real Deals how the latest insurance reform proposal marks an important change in how incentives and risk are treated.
Venture Views: French govt encourages start-up investment via “La French Tech” initiative
The goal of the initiative is to highlight the attractiveness of France’s start-up ecosystem to foreign and domestic investors.
Venture Views: The emergence of the venture debt broker - Fuse Capital
As venture debt continues to proliferate in the UK and Europe, venture debt broker Fuse Capital — the first of its kind – is stepping in to advise firms on what to expect.
Venture Views: VC is slow to adopt to ESG - PRI
VC firms are reluctant to incorporate ESG factors into the investment process, a new paper by PRI says.
Venture Views: Addressing Europe’s venture growth gap
The past two decades have seen VC proliferate into nascent markets. While they continue to develop, the capital needed to take many European start-ups to the next level still falls short.
Venture Views: The mobility tech boom ramps up
The mobility tech sector booms as demand for convenient, cheap and environmentally friendly transport ramps up.
Venture Views: European VC valuations soar to new highs
Venture capital valuations in Europe continue to hit record highs across all financing stages, according to PitchBook’s latest valuations report.
Venture views: In conversation with Mike Reid, Frog Capital
Frog Capital senior partner Mike Reid discusses the firm's value creation strategy and operating partner model, as well as the emerging growth equity investor profile.
Venture Views: Managing VC investments in a “frothy hot market”
At the BVCA 2021 Summit, guests and market stakeholders discuss making the best of a charged and heated VC market.
Venture Views: Beyond the cash
Elena Pantazi, Northzone's first partner dedicated to talent and portfolio management, discusses the the non-investment side of value creation.
Venture Views: Europe’s booming VC scene drives up valuations
Valuations of VC-backed companies in Europe show no sign of stopping, reaching new records in H1 2021, PitchBook has found.
Venture Views: “Healthtech can scare some VC funds off” - Octopus Ventures
Investment opportunities in healthtech are growing, but the sector isn't for everybody. Octopus Ventures' Joe Stringer outlines some of the key challenges and trends in the sector.
Venture Views: European VC deal value hits record highs - PitchBook
At €47.1bn, European VC deal value has already surpassed the annual record set in 2020. The market’s charging pace could see 2021 deal value at €100bn by the end of the year.
Venture Views: In conversation with Diversity VC’s new CEO
Real Deals spoke to newly appointed CEO Ladi Greenstreet about Diversity VC's recent changes in leadership, and what the next chapter holds.
Venture Views: “Music is going to stop” on mega valuations
Valuations are soaring like never before in venture capital, and as prices get higher and higher, some investors remain sceptical.
Venture Views: Fintech investment reaches new record in London
London has already broken the record for annual VC investment into fintechs, just six months into 2021.
Venture Views: Deep dive into the 11.2x exit of Depop to Etsy
The recent sale of peer-to-peer social shopping platform Depop to Etsy for $1.625bn marked the largest VC-backed M&A exit in the last three years. Real Deals spoke to Depop investor TempoCap’s managing partner Olav Ostin to learn more.
Venture Views: UK immigration reforms ensures start-up culture thrives
49 per cent of the UK's fastest-growing start-ups have at least one immigrant co-founder. With the overt benefits for UK tech and industry, companies are increasingly taking on a role of guiding foreign talent and entrepreneurs immigrating into the UK.
Venture Views: In conversation with Sky9 Capital’s Ron Cao
Real Deals spoke to Ron Cao, founder and partner of Sky9 Capital, about how to prepare a founder for the unicorn growth journey, IPOs and what makes the Chinese VC market so unique.
Venture Views: Predicting the next batch of unicorns
Real Deals caught up with PitchBook's Paul Condra to discuss the firm's latest Emerging Tech Indicator report and where the next batch of unicorns are likely to be found.
Balderton Capital Growth I closes on $680m
Balderton Capital has launched a new, growth-stage fund with a cornerstone commitment from British Patient Capital.
Venture Views: In conversation with… Cottonwood Technology’s Alain le Loux
Real Deals spoke to Alain le Loux, general partner at Cottonwood Technology Fund about the VC’s latest fund and the importance of marketing and market analysis in early-stage tech investment.
Venture Views: Digital technology will be “at the helm of the fourth industrial revolution” - Tech Nation
At a recent conference as part of ScaleUp Week 2021, Venture Capital firms and experts explored how innovation in the UK has developed in the last year, and how to create fertile conditions for further innovation moving forward.
Ysios Capital closes third fund on €216m
Ysios Capital, one of Spain's largest biotech-focused investors, has finalised the fundraising for its third fund.
Venture Views: “We’re starving our scale-ups of a source of capital” - Catherine La Torre, British Business Bank
Speaking on a panel at the ScaleUp Week 2021 conference, La Torre warned that the UK is missing out on a wealth of funding due to the fact that pension funds are restricted from investing in VC funds.
Venture Views: ScaleUp Capital - Bridging the gap
ScaleUp Capital CEO Simon Philips speaks to Real Deals about the new breed of investor that is plugging the funding gap between VC and PE-backed businesses. And, how assets are being scaled and prepared for PE investment.
Venture Views: Fusing the best from PE and VC for maximised growth
With funds in PE, corporate partnerships and early stage VC, True has a distinct model of leveraging PE skill sets to enhance the development of its VC investments.
Venture Views: UK tech VC investment hits $15bn
According to Tech Nation's latest report, UK tech VC investment hit a record high of $15bn in 2020, making Britain the third-biggest destination for investment worldwide.
Venture Views: Brexit threatens to disrupt the venture capital landscape
Brexit could have a profound impact on talent looking to establish a start-up in the UK, it has been suggested.
Venture Views: In conversation with Dawn Capital’s Haakon Overli
Dawn Capital’s Haakon Overli discusses the B2B software investor’s latest fund and the wave of VC-backed tech business exiting to PE firms.
Venture Views: Enterprise health & wellness tech sector receives record $3.2bn in venture funding
The enterprise health & wellness tech sector received a record $3.2bn in venture funding in 2020, the largest quarterly figure in the last five years, a recent report by PitchBook has found.
Venture Views: VC return multiples reach historic high
VC returns delivered an exceptional performance in 2020, reaching a record-high multiple of 1.64x in the second quarter, eFront finds.
Venture Views: Booming demand for Life Sciences investment will be paired with manager consolidation in 2021
Sander Slootweg, managing partner at Forbion Capital Partners, explores the opportunities and complexities of investing in the burgeoning Life Sciences sector.
Venture Views: In conversation with Northzone’s Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy, general partner at one of Europe's oldest venture firms, Northzone, talks us through the firm's investment strategy and what’s on the horizon for the venture industry as we enter the new year…