Introduced by Andreas Munk Holm, this EUVC Live at GoWest series spotlights the thought leadership of policymakers, institutional investors, GPs, corporates, and public capital leaders around one defining question:
How does Europe mobilise its own capital to secure its technological future?
Across the sessions, one theme emerges repeatedly:
Europe does not lack talent.
It does not lack innovation.
It does not lack savings.
It lacks coordination.
Is a 3x fund truly “successful”?
For decades, venture capital defined success through financial metrics alone.
DPI.
TVPI.
IRR.
Returns were on the scoreboard. Everything else was secondary.
But in a world shaped by climate risk, geopolitical instability, social scrutiny, and radical transparency, is financial performance still enough?
In this conversation, Heidi Lindvall, General Partner at Pale Blue Dot, challenges the traditional equation and proposes a new one:
Success = Performance × Trust
Performance still matters. But trust expressed through brand, values, and measurable impact acts as a multiplier.
Capital Is Not Neutral
A core claim runs through the discussion:
Venture capital does not simply allocate money.
It allocates the future.
The sectors it backs, the founders it enables, and the governance it demands—all of these shape industrial direction for decades.
This is why Heidi pushes back on the idea that values and impact are “overlays.”
From the Regeneration VC perspective, Narina Mnatsakanian, Partner and Chief Impact Officer, says circularity and mission-aligned capital are structural strategies.
Backing regenerative supply chains, circular materials, and resource efficiency is not only about doing good.
It is about anticipating inevitabilities:
regulation
resource scarcity
environmental cost
systemic risk
Brand Is Behavioral Consistency
One of the sharpest points Heidi makes is about brand.
In a venture, a brand is often treated as marketing.
She reframes it as something more operational:
Brand is behavioral consistency.
It is what founders and LPs observe over time:
How you behave in downturns
How you communicate when things go wrong
How you treat portfolio companies under stress
How do you make decisions when incentives conflict
Values aren’t what you publish.
They’re what you do when the market stops rewarding you.
Performance vs. Endurance
A fund can generate a 3x return and still fail to build a lasting franchise.
Why?
Because durability in venture is built on:
LP trust across cycles
founder loyalty
brand credibility
transparent communication in downturns
consistent decision-making under pressure
Boom cycles flatter many firms.
Down cycles expose them.
High-performance funds without trust risk becoming one-cycle wonders: they raise quickly, deploy aggressively, and struggle when sentiment turns.
Enduring firms, by contrast, compound both capital and credibility.
The LP Shift
Institutional investors are evolving, too.
Increasingly, LPs are asking questions that would have been dismissed as “soft” a decade ago:
Does this fund’s behavior match its stated values?
How does it measure impact alongside financial returns?
Does it understand long-term systemic risk?
Is it aligned with our institutional mission?
Value alignment is no longer niche.
It is becoming fiduciary.
Not because LPs want virtue.
Because they want durability.
The Broader Reframe
The session ultimately reframes venture success:
Performance gets you into the game.
Trust keeps you there.
In a capital environment shaped by scrutiny, sustainability, and systemic risk, the funds that endure may be those that internalize a simple principle:
Returns compound.
But reputation compounds faster.
