On fundraising dynamics in venture between Europe and India, with Sumer Juneja, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers

Join us for a discussion on how fundraising in two different regions, SoftBank's investment strategy and lessons learned from Sumer.

May 28, 2024

Transcript

Welcome back to a new episode of the European VC Podcast!

Today, we are very excited to introduce you to Sumer Juneja, the Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers in Europe. For those of you who don’t know, SoftBank is the GP of the Vision Fund that we all know about.

SoftBank has an AUM of $147B across all funds, has made around 60 investments in Europe so far, and has allocated $13B in total here. In their current portfolio, you can find companies like Revolut, Klarna, eToro, or BytdeDance.

Sumer has been investing since 2006. Before SoftBank, Sumer was a Partner at Norwest Venture Partners, focusing on growth equity and venture investments in Indian companies across various sectors. He has led and successfully exited multiple investments, including Swiggy, Indusind Bank, Shriram City Union Finance, Cholamandalam Finance, and National Stock Exchange.

At SoftBank, Sumer is covering the EMEA region and India, and today we’ll talk about things like:

Europe vs. India - and how each market is different
Why Sumersh joined Softbank, and his view on fundraising.
How does investing in Europe look for SoftBank?
… and more that we invite you to discover below.

Watch it here or add it to your episodes on Apple or Spotify 🎧

This episode is part of the State of European VC Fundraising Report 👀

Together with our good friends at Isomer Capital and Floww, we’ve made a report filled with graphs, beautiful narratives, and video interviews.

Drawing from our past 300+ podcast episodes, combined with the most recent market information and Isomer Capital’s vaulted data treasures, we aim to reveal the effects of the tech reset on the European fundraising market. We also explore how top European VCs have adapted their strategies, tactics, and operational guides in response.

Read report

Chapters:

04:06 Sumer's Journey into Venture Capital
05:49 The Importance of Mentorship in Career Growth
08:52 Joining SoftBank: A Game-Changing Decision
11:43 SoftBank's Investment Strategy
15:54 Comparing Venture Dynamics: India vs. Europe
22:45 The European Exit Environment
26:46 Lessons from Success and Failure in VC
40:29 SoftBank's Success in India
42:35 The Importance of Having Your Feet on the Ground
43:15 SoftBank's Organizational Structure in Europe and India
46:45 Building Relationships with VCs
53:44 Evaluating Founders and CEOs
57:49 Case Study: Swiggy's Success in India
01:03:42 Challenges of Scaling Across Regions
01:04:23 Balancing Work and Family Life
01:12:20 Key Learnings and Advice for Emerging Managers

✍️ Show notes

A pivotal moment in life.

India’s mobile and data revolution
Crash in 2008- how have things changed?
Tech in India in 2015/16: tech companies in India struggling to list
Fast forward to now- it’s easier to take public in India
Reflections on how quickly things change

Take a stance

“A little bit of chaos is good for you.“ - Sarah Drinkwater, Common Magic

Chaos is essential in VC
There are more stable industries i.e. infrastructure, where demand is consistent. This attracts a different type of personality
Reflections: chaos is essential to innovation

Shout-out

Invest Industrial
ParTech and BPI France
Kinnevik -
TravelPerk
Three clients - LP, fouder and co-investors.

Deep-dive on Sumer’s investing formula.

Proactive rather than reactive
Not that fuzzed about which sector to be in, keep your mind open
Know founder for at least 18 months
Beware of oging against headwinds
Speak to 7-10 Ex-employees to understand whats going on
Idea’: Meet in round before, get to know and then pre-empt
Extremely good communications skills with CEO
Have very rarely - if ever - backed a non-founder CEO. A corporate CEO works quater to quarter, a founder day to day.
Speak to competition:
Look around the corner. You may be doing a Series F but you need to meet Series A companies → understand the technology is coming up the chain
Case study: food delivery
Trying to control the full stack is challenging/ an outdated business model
Uber Eats, Swiggy and DoorDash disruptors in this space

Biggest learnings in life

Building a team culture: respect is key
Reflections on family/ health
Achieving a balanced lifestyle- ‘not being a total geek’ i.e. golf, socialising etc.
Importance of EQ, Relations and Discipline. IQ only gets you so far.

Advice for 10-years younger self

Take more risk
Pursue passions from a younger age

Tips for emerging VCs fundraising right now

Know what not to do! Know your edge.
Develop your exit strategy at the same time as your entry strategy

Counterintuitive thing learned in venture

TAM and SAM doesnt make any snese. Beware of analysis paralsis
Founder centric investment decisions often don’t pan out
You aren’t just betting on the founder when investing. Understanding the business model is essential.
Share board experiences?

👋 Upcoming in-person events we’re hosting

There’s nothing we like better than getting Europe’s best and brightest together with good food, drinks, and conversations that go truly deep.

Fund Modelling Workshop & Mixer | 5th of June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany | Join waitlist.

European VC Awards | 4th of June | 🌍 Berlin, Germany | Get tickets.

📅 Upcoming virtual events

From time to time, a podcast is just not enough. Check out our roundtables and live events below.

🏆 Firesides with the winners of the European VC Awards

Fireside with the Newcomer of the Year Winner | 13/6, 12-1:30 PM | Register here. Hundreds of new VC funds come to market every year. But only ONE will win Newcomer of The Year. This is your chance to meet the winner firsthand.

Fireside chat with the Winner of the Hall of Fame | 25/6, 12-1 PM | Register here.
Hear firsthand from a true giant upon whose shoulders the European tech ecosystem stands tall.