Another packed newsletter for you. Let’s get into it.
We’ve got some standout submissions on the community insights platform to share, plus upcoming workshops in the EUVC community you won’t want to miss.
📝 SSV releases new research highlighting the stark gender gap in European late-stage venture capital
For those of you interested in late-stage high profile deals, we have gotten access to xAI, Anthropic and Anduril that are all closing over the next few weeks. Reach out to andreas to hear more.
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Dawn Capital's Evgenia Plotnikova on navigating today's exciting AI landscape
Hello and welcome back to 'At The Cap Table”, a podcast series here at EUVC, where we explore the journeys and insights of some of the most influential leaders in venture capital. Today, we’re thrilled to have Evgenia Plotnikova, General Partner at London HQ’d Dawn Capital.
From her start in investment banking during the financial crisis to her role now in VC, she talks about the challenges, successes, and what it takes to thrive in an ever-evolving industry.
We dive into her work at Dawn, what it means to be a B2B software specialist, and her thoughts on navigating today's exciting AI landscape. Let's get into it!
✍️ Show notes
Building Dawn Capital: Principles and Growth
Dawn Capital, as Evgenia highlights, has always stuck to its core focus: B2B software. Founded back in 2006, before software became a mainstream obsession, Dawn carved a niche that has since proven crucial to its success. The key differentiators include:
Specialization from the Start: Unlike many funds, Dawn committed early to its focus on B2B software. This niche has allowed them to deeply understand their founders' challenges and deliver better support.
A Team Culture of Growth: Dawn operates as a true meritocracy. Evgenia herself was promoted from principal to general partner, and this “grow from within” culture helps the firm attract and retain incredible talent.
Hard Truths About Venture Exits
Evgenia doesn’t shy away from the realities of venture, especially the exit process. Despite the hype, exits are often harder than they seem, especially when dealing with multi-round investments and high valuation expectations. She shares an important caution for founders:
The VC Treadmill: Once you’re on it—raising from seed to Series A, B, C, etc.—it’s hard to get off. And each round is a "betting the farm" decision, one that founders should be mindful of.
Raising with Prudence: Success shouldn’t just be defined by valuation but by customer love, real revenue growth, and a sustainable community. “Valuations are paper true, but not always reality true,” Evgenia wisely notes.
Lessons in AI and Staying Grounded
With AI being the buzzword of the moment, Evgenia shares her view on the balance between seizing opportunities and staying true to fundamentals:
AI or Die?: Evgenia jokes about the "AI or die" mentality that seems to be sweeping the tech world. However, she insists on avoiding "AI for the sake of AI" and instead focusing on how it genuinely improves technology stacks and user experiences.
Sticking to Fundamentals: Just like during the cloud boom or early days of social, technology should solve a real problem, not just be trendy.
Career Mentorship and Personal Growth
Evgenia attributes much of her growth to the mentorship culture at Dawn. Venture capital is, in her words, an "apprenticeship job," and she feels fortunate to have had supportive partners who allowed her to be true to herself while pushing her to excel. This authentic leadership style has helped her relate to a wide variety of founders and add value at the board level.
Resilience and Optimism
She also emphasizes the need for resilience in venture:
Grit and Perseverance: The long timelines inherent in venture mean that investors, just like founders, need to persist through difficult periods without losing enthusiasm or optimism.
Optimism Amid Hype: While there is undeniable hype around technologies like AI, Evgenia keeps an eye on fundamentals, always returning to the core metrics that define real business health.
If Not Venture, Then What?
If Evgenia hadn’t chosen venture capital, she would have pursued a career in diplomacy. Originally passionate about political science, she once imagined herself influencing global affairs through diplomatic channels. Ironically, she finds that VC also allows her to have a significant impact—through funding innovative companies, supporting cutting-edge tech, and ultimately shaping the economic landscape in ways she hadn’t initially imagined.
THE LAND of LIQUIDITY: Europe & US Divergence. Part 4.
by Owen Reynolds from Teklas Ventures, the VC arm of a family office associated with Teklas. | Originally published on EUVC.
The European tech startups I talk to on a daily basis are almost always aimed towards the US. I should admit I also advice most startups to target US markets. But there are real tangible reasons.
On the surface, America is an easier target. As a large, high-disposable income country with a single language and common regulators, the rules of the game for a Delaware C-Corp are plain vanilla. US corporates are more acquisitive and more likely to create partnerships with even early-stage companies, further feeding its culture of risk.
But perhaps more importantly is that this is the land of liquidity.
Stocks at Scale
Spearheaded by the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the US equities markets are the largest and deepest in the world. The combined value of the US equities market was estimated at $55 trillion at the end of Q2 ’24.
According to a recent rendition from the Visual Capitalist, the S&P 500 alone makes up a full 51% of the global equities markets. This index, the largest 500 companies listed across these US markets is worth $48 trillion and includes all of the trillion-dollar companies in existence with the exception of Saudi Aramco and TSMC.
Even a year ago, the US markets only made up 42,5% of all the world’s equity valuation, as the graphic below highlights. It was also home to 39 of the 100 largest companies in the world, and surely more today.
This also shows the US’s whopping plurality, which dwarves the EU’s 11,1% and the UK’s 2,9% of global equity markets. Combined, the dozens of stock exchanges on the Continent and British Isles make up only a third of US equity volume.
The graphic above also indicates which types of companies are listed in each market. US earnings growth in equities, at 10%, is twice as high as Europe’s. Read: US markets tilt heavily towards high growth companies.
A supporting indicator is the turnover of the top spots being far more fluid. For example, of the top ten US listed companies in 2000, only Microsoft retains a spot in the top ten today. In Europe, for example, most of those companies have been on the top ten list for years.
There are other articles you’ll find that list decreasing business dynamism indicators in Europe. Decreasing job reallocation, decreasing share of employment in young firms, and less responsive businesses after economic shocks are among them.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Having buoyant markets has an impact on smaller exit scenarios, as well. The Monetary Premium described in Part 3 of this series means that listed corporates have access to more capital at a higher valuation. This gives them more maneuvering room to acquire adjacent or competing businesses.
The result is that European M&A activity is significantly lower. We intuitively know this is the case, but the divergence is wider than I even would have assumed.
Pitchbook can narrow down M&A activity to compare just those companies that had strategic acquisitions and mergers of equals. This excludes traditional private equity buy-outs, venture- and private equity-backed M&A, and reverse mergers.
The run-of-the-mill median US deal size in 2024 is €37,6m. This is 3,8x the EU median deal size of €9,9m this year to date.
It’s no surprise that the market is smaller in aggregate, as well as per deal. US dealmaking has decreased by 66% from a top of €607b in 2019 to €207b in 2024 year to date. EU dealmaking is down 85% from a top in 2019 (about the same as the US’ new bottom) from €218b to €33b today.
United States M&A Activity 2013 – 2024, Pitchbook
Europe M&A Activity 2013 – 2024, Pitchbook
Why Does It Matter?
It initially all seems academic—numbers too big to make a difference to small startups. However, these dynamics change the incentives for companies making decisions even at the earliest stages. Where to locate, where to hire, which partnerships to accumulate, which customers to target and more are up for grabs.
The dollar reserve disparity has set up US markets to gear towards uber-productive technology-driven companies. The monetary premium boosts those home assets by funneling trillions of future cash flow towards capital markets. And the result is that the M&A activity in the US, especially in the tech sector, greatly outpaces Europe.
This is also why most European venture investors encourage their companies to target US markets. Even in the worst of times, it remains the land of liquidity.
SSV releases new research highlighting the stark gender gap in European late-stage venture capital
Guest post by Brynne Kennedy, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Smart Society Ventures. | Originally published on EIN Presswire.
Smart Society Ventures (SSV) announced the release ofThe Missing Middle: Gender Disparities in Late-Stage Venture Capital Funding, which provides new data on the stark gender imbalance in late-stage venture capital (Series A to Series C funding rounds).
The research was produced in partnership with the UK government'sInvest in Women Taskforce, M&G, Latham & Watkins, European Women in VC and venture capital funds Octopus Ventures and Plural. The publication also marks that start of SSV's Missing Middle research series, examining structural gaps in Europe's scale-up economy.
🎙Alt Goes Mainstream EP. 107 - Blue Owl GP Strategic Capital's Sean Ward - transforming GP stakes into an industry
Guest post by Michael Sidgmore, Co-founder & Partner at Broadhaven Ventures. | Originally published on Alt Goes Mainstream.
Today’s podcast illustrates just how far private markets have come. We dive into the world of GP stakes with Sean Ward, Senior Managing Director from Blue Owl’s GP Strategic Capital Platform, where he was a founding partner and is responsible for helping to oversee the firm that has done the lion’s share of GP stakes investing.
Blue Owl’s GP Strategic Capital business, which started out as Dyal Capital Partners, has accounted for over 61% of the total capital raised in the GP stakes space, closing on over $33.3B across their 7 funds and managing $57.8B AUM. They’ve taken minority ownership stakes in many of the industry’s leading alternative asset managers, accounting for 85%+ of all GP stakes deals $600M or greater in size.
Tactyc is the leading forecasting and scenario-planning software for venture capital funds, combining portfolio construction, portfolio management, forecasting, and reporting into a unified platform.
🧠 Upcoming EUVC masterclasses
Advanced small-group sessions that take you from good to great. Lectured by leading GPs, LPs & Experts.
✍🏻 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.
✍🏻 EUVC Masterclass | Benchmarketing for GPs & LPs
Join us for an in-depth session on VC Fund Terms & KPIs: Mastering Metrics for Fund Success. This workshop will focus on the key performance indicators (KPIs) that drive VC fund performance and the critical timing for measuring these metrics. You’ll gain insights into what matters most to Limited Partners (LPs) and what General Partners (GPs) should focus on internally for effective fund management.
The session will also cover how to set up a comprehensive dashboard, including portfolio tracking, to streamline your reporting and ensure your fund’s success.
Special offer: Join the EUVC Community for 25€ per month and get 100€ off while enjoying access to on-demand masterclasses, tools & templates and monthly AMAs with leading GPs, LPs & experts.
🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss
There are some events that just have to be on the calendar. Here’s our list, hit us up if you’re going, we’d love to meet!
GoWest | 📆 28 - 30 January 2025 | 🌍 Gothenburg, Sweden
GITEX Europe 2025 | 📆 23 - 25 May 2025 | 🌍 Berlin, Germany
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