In this special episode, we welcome back Patric Hellermann to dive deep into the concept of edge in venture capital. This isn't your average discussion on differentiation—it's a methodical breakdown of what creates enduring alpha for fund managers, grounded in Patric’s experience building Foundamental, a B2B-focused early-stage VC.
This episode is for anyone asking: How do I build an edge that scales? You’ll leave with answers rooted in practice, not theory.
Here’s what’s covered:
02:30 What Makes an Edge? Why Most VCs and LPs Struggle to Answer
06:15 The 4 Steps of VC Value Creation: Sourcing, Picking, Winning, Managing
12:45 What Founders Want: How to Make Yourself the First Call
17:10 DPI Over Hype: Why Patrick Optimizes for Liquidity, Not Likes
21:20 Empathy, Proximity & Pattern Recognition: What Most European Funds Get Wrong
28:35 Pan-European Funds & the Pitfalls of “Routine-Free” Investing
34:40 Why Distribution Beats Product: Lessons from Category Leaders
41:25 Fund Design That Scales: GPs with Domain Depth Over Generalism
53:30 Prioritization as a Superpower: How to Build With Focus
1:00:45 National vs Global Champions: How LPs Think About Risk and Follow-On Capital
📺 Watch the episode here or stream it on Spotify or Apple Podcasts—now with chapters for easy navigation 🎧
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✍️ Show Notes
Building Edge with Intention
Patric breaks down what most call “mystique” into something methodical. For Foundamental, edge comes from knowing exactly how value is created: sourcing, picking, winning, and managing. Each step is mapped. Each has metrics. And each builds on hard-won empathy and deep pattern recognition.
Pan-European Strategy ≠ Spray and Pray
The episode exposes the limitations of going broad without routine. Patric explains how most pan-European funds start with one country’s empathy, and how misalignment at the IC level often leads to scattershot decisions. The fix? Embedding local conviction and repetition into the fund's DNA.
Distribution as a Core Competency
Forget product-led investing, Patric argues that VCs, like startups, need a strong distribution flywheel. From LP-aligned channels to ecosystem anchoring, the funds that win don’t just pick right, they get picked first.
Prioritization Over Hustle
In a world that celebrates doing more, Patric argues for doing fewer things better. From team structure to market selection, prioritization isn’t just strategy, it’s survival. Especially for emerging managers with limited bandwidth.
Fund One vs. Fund Five: What Changes, What Doesn’t
Fund One magic isn’t just about hunger, it’s about unlocking years of built-up insight and unleashing it with focus. Patric and Andreas debate whether performance can scale, and where firms like Seedcamp prove that brand and strategy can co-exist.
LP Perspectives: Benchmarks, Biases & the Body Test
The episode closes with an LP lens: why specificity scares LPs, how they evaluate champions (local vs. global), and why diligence is often more about pattern recognition than pure conviction.
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🗓️ The VC Conferences You Can’t Miss
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The EU CVC Summit 2025 | 📆 26 - 28 August 2025 | 🇩🇰 Copenhagen, Denmark
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