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Europe’s VC Volatility, UK Budget Reforms, and Middle East Geopolitical Shifts, and more

Learn directly from Dan Bowyer & Mads Jensen, The Startup Leap, and other leading European companies and VCs.

Dec 22, 2024

Transcript

Here we go, with the weekly tech roundup together with Dan Bowyer & Mads Jensen, and more. Let’s get into it.

🎧 New podcast episode on Europe’s VC Volatility, UK Budget Reforms, and Middle East Geopolitical Shifts – with Dan Bowyer & Mads Jensen
🎧 Tale of Two Startups, Building a Logistic Tech With or Without VC - The Startup Leap

Looking for more insights? Here are some great articles that were featured recently on our community platform.

Emerging fund managers face countless challenges when setting up and structuring their first VC fund. The process is complex, daunting, and full of pitfalls, from navigating legal frameworks to engaging with the right service providers, the foundations you lay now will shape your growth trajectory.

That’s why we’re planning an exclusive 3-hour masterclass designed to equip emerging managers with the insights, strategies, and tools needed to tackle these challenges head-on.

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Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC podcast, where we’ll cover recent news and movements in the European tech landscape with Dan Bowyer and Mads Jensen from SuperSeed.

Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧 chapters for easy navigation available on the Spotify/Apple episode.

Work with the communications experts for European tech and venture.

CEW Communications is your storytelling partner. Our creative experts work closely with you to get your message seen and heard by the right audience. Start telling your story, today. Use “WeLoveEUVC” to save 10% on fees in January.

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✍️ Show notes

Biggest Stories of 2024

AI Wars: Elon Musk’s X.AI builds Colossus with $11B, while Microsoft invests $30B in NVIDIA hardware, escalating the AI infrastructure race. NVIDIA stock rises 170% YTD.
Scaling Data Challenges: Limited internet data slows scaling laws, but innovations in autonomous agents and reasoning models drive progress.
Europe’s AI Lag: Europe focuses on FinTech and health tech but lags behind the US in AI infrastructure development.

Geopolitics & Economics

US Leadership Shifts: Trump’s re-election brings deregulation and bold crypto initiatives (e.g., Bitcoin Act). S&P 500 rises 23%, Nasdaq 27%.
Labour’s Budget: The UK’s first Labour budget in 14 years focuses on repairs but lacks incentives for entrepreneurs, raising concerns over competitiveness.
Middle East Reordering: Collapse of Iran’s proxies (Hamas, Hezbollah, Assad) could transform the region’s economic and political landscape.

Startups & Venture Trends

UK VC Volatility: Record highs and lows in the UK’s VC market; highlights include Monzo’s $431M raise and Flow becoming Europe’s first FemTech unicorn.
IPO Momentum: Klarna plans a New York IPO; Revolut’s secondary trading values the company at $45B.

2025 Outlook

AI Applications: Anticipated transition from foundational model development to real-world applications.
Economic Stability: Investors brace for inflation persistence and global economic shifts.
VC Resilience: 2025 expected to see continued adjustments in valuations, stronger exits, and more strategic capital deployment.

The Startup Leap 15: Tale of Two Startups, Building a Logistic Tech With or Without VC

Guest post by Maria Rotilu - Founding Partner at Openseed.VC and Yvonne Bajela - Partner at LocalGlobe. | Originally published on The Startup Leap.

This week on The Startup Leap, we dive into the world of logistics with Sait Cham, the innovative mind behind Hutch and Pimento. Hutch is redefining third-party logistics (3PL) by offering brands customizable, high-efficiency fulfillment services, while Pimento powers these operations with cutting-edge software. Hear how Sait’s journey—starting from cold emails to CEOs—transformed him into a leader in logistics tech.

Key Highlights:

🧗‍♂️ The power of resilience and adaptability
🛠️ Innovative strategies in logistics tech
👥 Building and leading an effective team
💸 Finding profitability in a competitive market‍

👉 Connect with Sait Cham, Hutch and Pimento on LinkedIn and Instagram: @saitcham, @tryhutch and @pimentohq

🌟 Stay Updated with The Startup Leap: Instagram @thestartupleappod, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok: @thestartupleap, and newsletter here.

European tech predictions for startup founders for 2025

Guest post by Louis Dussart at RTP Global, Zuzanna Stamirowska and Claire Nouet at Pathway and Dr. Andrea Cullen at CAPSLOCK | Originally published on EUVC.

2024 was a transformative year for European startups, filled with both uncertainty and opportunity. While unpredictable regulatory environments created fundraising obstacles for some, several sectors experienced notable growth with VCs expanding their focus and investing in a broader range of industries.

Meanwhile, AI was on the agenda for almost every startup. Some took advantage of the opportunity posed by advancements in AI in the evolving market, while others understood its capacity to enhance cyber defences.

Read the full story here

2024 Annual Review Guide For Investors

Guest post by Julius Bachmann, Founder of Bachmann Catalyst. | Originally published on The Effective Entrepreneur.

Our friend and EU.VC podcast guest, Julius Bachmann, is an experienced venture capitalist who has transitioned into executive coaching. Recognizing the value of year-end reflection, he has created a thoughtful annual reflection guide tailored specifically for VC investors.

If you're looking to end the year on a more mindful note but find generic reflection questions uninspiring, this guide offers a valuable resource. It provides a structured framework to help VC professionals take stock of the past year, extract meaningful insights, and plan for the year ahead - all designed to help investors gain clarity, identify areas for improvement, and enter the new year with renewed focus and purpose.

Read the full story here

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🤗 Join the EUVC Community

Looking for niche, high-quality experiences that prioritize depth over breadth? Consider joining our community focused on delivering content tailored to the experienced VC. Here’s what you can look forward to as a member:

Exclusive Access & Discounts: Priority access to masterclasses with leading GPs & LPs, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
On-Demand Content: A platform with sessions you can access anytime, anywhere complete with presentations, templates and other resources.
Interactive AMAs: Engage directly with top GPs and LPs in exclusive small group sessions — entirely free for community members.

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EUVC Masterclass: VC Fund Performance Benchmarking

Benchmarking is more than just numbers - it’s a critical tool for GPs and LPs to measure performance, position funds effectively, and align with market expectations. Join us for this 2-hour masterclass designed to demystify VC benchmarking and provide actionable insights to navigate key metrics like IRR, TVPI, DPI and PME.

Led by Joe Schorge, Managing Partner of Isomer Capital, this session will help you understand how LPs think, how benchmarks are created and - most importantly - how to use them to evaluate performance, communicate results, and position your fund confidently in the market.

Join the masterclass here

💬 EUVC Community | LP AMA with AQVC’s Marius Weber

Join us for an exclusive AMA session with Marius Weber, Founding Partner at AQVC.

After a history as a co-founder of startups and a manager of several VC funds over the last 15 years, in 2021 Marius Weber partnered with his long time friends Marcus and Oliver and co-founded AQVC, a tech enabled asset manager for Venture Capital which is divided in two departments.

This AMA is part of our ongoing series of small-group sessions designed to foster deep, meaningful discussions within the VC community. Participation is free for members of our community, but spots are limited. Reserve your spot now to ensure you don’t miss this opportunity.

Become EUVC Community member

✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Marketing & VC Fund Narrative

Your brand is everything. It’s what sets you apart, helps you win the best deals, attract LPs, and ultimately drive your growth. For emerging fund managers, building a credible brand and establishing the right marketing foundations early on are game-changers. Yet, many don’t know where to begin.

Your fund’s narrative is what makes the difference between an LP glancing at your deck or deciding they’re ready to write a check. It’s your brand that makes LPs feel confident they’re partnering with someone who knows how to make magic happen.

We’re planning a masterclass on building strong marketing foundations with a top industry leader. If enough people show interest, we’ll make it happen.

Show your interest