EU-Startups Podcast
The official Podcast of EU-Startups.com - the leading online magazine about startups in Europe.
Episode 93: Gerard Grech - MD of Founders at Cambridge & CEO of Tech Nation - Driving Innovation Trough Tech Ecosystems
In this episode, we catch up with Gerard Grech, Managing Director of Founders at the University of Cambridge, a new strategic initiative focused on accelerating the formation and scaling of new deep technology-based companies. Gerard is also the founder, advisor and former Chief Executive of Tech Nation before it was acquired by the Founders Forum Group. Under his leadership, Tech Nation went on to shape Europe’s most productive digital ecosystem, creating dozens of nationwide programs that helped grow some of Britain’s biggest tech stars, from Monzo to Skyscanner, with over 1300 companies in between. A third of all tech unic...
Episode 92: Diyala D'Aveni - Head of Vento & Italian Tech Week - What's the Future of the Italian Startup Ecosystem?
In this episode, we catch up with Diyala D'Aveni, Head of Vento, an Italian chapter of Exor Ventures. With $520M invested in 76 startups globally, Exor Ventures is focusing on discovering exceptional founders with the ambition to build great companies and backing them from pre-seed to pre-IPO. Diyala is also the organizer of Italian Tech Week, the leading tech conference in Italy that has attracted some of the absolute tech legends such as Brian Chesky, Sam Altman, Doug Leone, Sarah Guo, Mike Volpi and many more. Diyala talks about her journey in the startup world, her insights on personal growth, the...
Episode 91: Peter Hirsch - Head of Sustainability at 2150 - Investing in Tech to Remove 10M+ Tons of CO2 in 10 Years
In this episode, we catch up with Peter Hirsch, Head of Sustainability at 2150. 2150 is a London-based venture capital firm investing in technology companies that seek to sustainably reimagine and reshape cities and the industries that power them. 2150’s mission to deploy ‘Constructive Capital’ is centered on the conviction that sustainability provides both superior returns and meaningful impact in the face of today’s challenges. To achieve this mission, they embed impact considerations across all aspects of their business from investment evaluation, to company and founder support, to investor engagement and our platform, and in their day-to-day operations. They developed the 2150 Impact F...
Episode 90: Sander van de Rijdt - Co-Founder & CEO of PlanRadar - The Secret Sauce Of Building A Successful Company
In this episode, we catch up with Sander van de Rijdt, Co-Founder and CEO of PlanRadar. Based in Vienna, PlanRadar has emerged as a leading player in the construction and real estate project management software industry. Since its inception in 2013, the fast-growing scale-up has grown to approximately 500 team members and has raised over €100 million in funding. PlanRadar’s success is a testament to its innovative approach to digitizing construction and real estate projects. Sander talks about the PlanRadar's success and expansion as well as about developing new technologies, such as AI-driven drone 360-degree capturing and PlanRadar SiteView, a head-mounted 360-degree came...
Episode 89: Steve Chen - Co-Founder & former CTO of YouTube - Lessons Learned From Building YouTube
In this episode, we catch up with Steve Chen, Co-Founder & former CTO of YouTube. Steve shares his insights and lessons learned from building YouTube. He shares his perspective on selling YouTube to Google for $1.65B and talks about his journey from Silicon Valley to Asia. Steve spills the beans on the evolution of YouTube from a dating platform to a video giant, and the challenges faced during its rapid growth. He shares his insights on the impact of user-generated content, the future of video formats, and offers advice for aspiring founders. Steve also reflects on the importance of innovation and...
Episode 88: Tony Jamous - Founder & CEO of Oyster - From Burnout to Remote-First Unicorn
In this episode, we catch up with Tony Jamous. Tony is the CEO and Co-Founder of Oyster, a unicorn and hyper-growth company that empowers companies to hire, pay, and care for team members globally. He believes in providing opportunities for everyone anywhere. Over the last decade, Tony has built and scaled Oyster to become a global employment platform valued at over $1 billion. He raised $150 M in Series C funding (total raised $230m), grew the team to over 600 + people across 60 + countries, and achieved B corp status. Tony is passionate about the future of work and the evolution it brings to create...
Episode 87: AI Innovator Spotlight - Pitch Edition
In this special episode, we present to you The AI Innovator Spotlight, which is part of the Innovation Radar Bridge initiative, unveiling some of Europe’s most exciting AI startups backed by EU initiatives. This session served as a crucial platform for these emerging companies to present their innovative technologies and engage with leading venture capitalists for invaluable feedback, driving forward the frontier of AI advancements in Europe. The session aimed to connect innovators with investors and policymakers, showcasing technologies in automated TV production, digital twins for personalized medicine, credit scoring solutions, cloud computing platforms, AI governance, and digital therapeutics fo...
Episode 86: Jan Reichelt - Founding Partner of 10x Founders - Are Former Entrepreneurs Better Investors?
In this episode, we catch up with Jan Reichelt, Founding Partner of 10x Founders. Jan is an entrepreneur at heart who has spent his professional career in tech startups, online businesses, professional information services, and digital media. He started and exited two companies and he has been awarded "European Founder of the Year" by TechCrunch / The Europas. Now he's a Founding Partner of 10x Founders, a network-driven investor backed by over 200 entrepreneurs and angels. Through an exclusive international network of successful entrepreneurs and investors, mainly in Europe and the US, 10x Founders' partners have been the first backer of unicorns...
Episode 85: Andre Retterath - Partner at Earlybird VC - How AI Is Changing Venture Capital
In this episode, we catch up with Andre Retterath, Partner & EagleEye Lead at Earlybird Venture Capital and Author of Data-Driven VC. Earlybird VC was founded in 1997 and is a European early-stage VC firm that invests in all development and growth phases of technology companies. With more than EUR 2 billion under management, eight IPOs and 31 trade sales, Earlybird is one of the most established and active venture capital firms in Europe. In Earlybird's team, Andre focuses on enterprise software with a particular interest in developer, data and productivity tools, alongside AI-centric products and robotics. He has been leading Earlybird’s engineering te...
Episode 84: Madeline Lawrence - CBO of Aikido Security & Former Partner at Peak - What's Wrong with Venture Capital?
In this episode, we catch up with Madeline Lawrence, CBO of Aikido Security, former Partner at Peak, and one of the most colorful voices in the European tech and venture capital scene. Aikido recently raised $17M to bring “no BS” security for devs. This round comes just 6 months after they raised $5.3M in seed funding. Aikido is the get-it-done security platform for developers that centralizes all necessary code and cloud security scanners in one place and makes security simple for SMEs and doable for developers without industry jargon, red tape, and frankly, BS. Madeline discusses her journey from venture capital and...