Entrepreneur Talks by STATION F

A new billion-dollar fund "crafting a fertile future". A new-generation VC backed by 15 top entrepreneurs to support the "new wave" of founders.

The VC ecosystem is blossoming in France and we interview three investors at the heart of this movement: Marie Ekeland (2050), Pia d'Iribarne (New Wave), and Jean de la Rochebrochard (New Wave and Kima Ventures). If you are familiar with the tech ecosystem in Europe, then you are certainly no stranger to these three names.

Marie, a pioneer in the French tech ecosystem, started her career in VC as a partner at Elaia and founded the VC fund Daphni as well as one of the biggest tech communities France Digitale. Her new fund 2050 is also breaking new ground with its new investment model that prioritizes sustainability and future well-being.

Pia and Jean, highly experienced investors respectively from Accel/Stride and Kima, have rounded up 15 high-level LPs — including Xavier Niel, Yuri Milner of DST, Peter Fenton from Benchmark, Philippe Laffont from Coatue, and Tony Fadell of Nest and Apple — to launch New Wave, a next-gen fund to back the even more ambitious founders in today's European tech landscape.

Topics:

[Part 1 with Marie Ekeland]

01:03 — Introduction of 2050, Marie Ekeland’s new fund

02:10 — The structure and incentives of 2050, an evergreen fund

04:47 — Why 2050 gets away from a traditional VC partnership model

05:40 — The power of finance on the economy

06:25 — The kind of companies in which 2050 invests

09:46 — What kind of investments does 2050 make: cheque size, company stage, etc.

10:13 — Thoughts on “growth at all cost”: the example of Netflix

12:35 — On raising $1 billion by 2030 and building sustainable companies

15:03 — 2050’s investments: the story of Withings

19:20 — Marie Ekeland’s evolution as an investor

21:53 — Marie’s thoughts on the current funding situation in France

23:02 — How 2050 stands out from the competitive VC landscape

24:23 — France’s potential to lead in the sustainable transition

[Part 2 with Pia d’Iribarne & Jean de la Rochebrochard]

27:08 — The impetus for starting New Wave

28:42 — How Jean and Pia met and why they wanted to start a fund together

30:45 — The incredible LPs at New Wave

33:37 — New Wave’s investment thesis

34:30 — The kind of founder profiles that New Wave backs

35:53 — The characteristics that Jean looks for in founders

38:28 — Investments at New Wave: cheque size, company stage, etc.

39:14 — Jean on New Wave and Kima Ventures

42:02 — Pia on her experience as a fund founder

44:24 — Pia on smart money

45:47 — Hopes and expectations for 2021

This episode is supported by Euronext, the leading pan-European stock exchange; hosted by Roxanne Varza; and produced by Cindy Yang. Art is by Gaëtan Lefebvre.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamie Macfarlane is the founder & CEO of Creator Fund, an early-stage VC fund that invests in student-led companies with student investment partners.

Having studied both in the UK and in the USA, he started Creator Fund based on the observation that some of the world's most successful technology companies —like Facebook and Google— have been started in the dorm rooms and laboratories of American universities. Europe has universities of equal caliber but these have not yet managed to spin out as many tech champions. With the Creator Fund, Jamie hopes to support more student-led innovation and the creation of tech-driven companies across the continent. To do so, he has also designed a very unique student-focused model.

In this episode, we talk to Jamie to learn more about how their model works, what are some of the most exciting companies currently being built in universities across Europe, and what Europe can do to encourage more DeepTech companies.

Topics:

00:23 — Introduction with Cindy Yang

01:07 — How Jamie first started investing in students

02:29 — Creator Fund's investment model (and its secret sauce 🌶)

03:50 — How they recruit their student investment partners

05:02 — Why they're not called "ambassadors" or "scouts"

07:16 — The difference between investing in students in the US vs. in Europe

08:20 — What Creator Fund looks for in companies

12:16 — The advantage of getting investment from Creator Fund: talent network and follow-on investment

15:34 — The ideal founding team and the example of Touchlab

19:56 — Trends and companies that Jamie is excited about: Baseimmune and RecyclEye

23:44 — The technology behind vaccine company Baseimmune

28:10 — The limits to Creator Fund's investment model

31:44 — How IP works in universities

33:16 — What Europe can do to encourage more DeepTech companies

37:00 — Jamie's piece of advice for student entrepreneurs

This episode is hosted and produced by Cindy Yang. Art is by Gaëtan Lefebvre.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What makes a good founder? How do you build a strong co-founding team?

In this episode, we catch up with Matt Clifford and Alice Bentinck from Entrepreneur First (EF), who have been backing talented individuals pre-team and pre-idea. They've pioneered a new model of company creation, which involves bringing together extremely talented people from academia and industry to build the next generation of globally ambitious technology startups from scratch. EF has been producing incredible DeepTech companies around the world, including at STATION F in Paris. Their program at STATION F is currently recruiting for talents to join them in April 2021.

Topics:

00:22 — Introduction with Roxanne Varza

01:38 — How the idea of Entrepreneur First first came up

03:22 — What Entrepreneur First looks for in potential founders

07:15 — How EF assesses candidates

10:50 — How EF helps two individuals go from strangers to co-founders

16:18 — What people should pay attention to when they go into a co-founder relationship

18:46 — On founder culture: are there cultural differences worldwide?

21:39 — On diversity within EF and the types of entrepreneurs in the program

26:17 — How EF identifies high-performing individuals

29:12 — Matt on what successful teams look like

32:58 — Alice on which kind of teams work well together and which don’t

35:07 — Alice on what is most exciting about being a founder

36:07 — Conclusion

STATION F: The Podcast is hosted by Roxanne Varza, and produced by Cindy Yang. Art is by Gaëtan Lefebvre.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Startups often ask us the question: is it really worth it to attend big tech events like CES, Web Summit, and VivaTech? In this episode, we set out to answer this question with three STATION F entrepreneurs: Aymeric Wuidart (founder of Artiris), Khaled Sehly (co-founder of AirWayBill), and Clémence Demerliac (founder of Adalong). This episode is also packed with plenty of tips on how to make the most out of big tech events!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IPOs or acquisitions? When it comes to exit strategies, going public remains less celebrated in Europe. Most startups imagine huge barriers to listing...but is it really that complicated? In this episode, we learn more about the pros and cons of doing an IPO with Camille Leca, COO Listing at Euronext, and Odd Sverre Østlie, CEO at Pexip, a videoconferencing solution based in Oslo.

This episode is supported by Euronext, the leading pan-European stock exchange.

Topics:

01:04 — Why getting acquired is not the best exit strategy

02:36 — Why specifically an IPO: what IPOs can help you achieve, the advantages of doing an IPO: (liquidity for founders, shareholders, employees, etc.), credibility, financing, buildup

04:01 —The advantages of listing on Euronext (vs. on NASDAQ in the USA)

05:48 — Doing a dual listing in Europe and in the USA

06:30 — What is Euronext and where does it operate in Europe?

07:05 — Camille Leca’s role at Euronext

07:12 — Example of companies listed on Euronext

08:38 — When is a good time for a company to think about an IPO?

09:56 — On how Camille helps companies get listed

10:40 — On Euronext’s IPO program for startups: Techshare

12:52 — Common pitfalls or misconceptions of companies

14:08 — Camille’s advice for early-stage startups considering a future IPO

15:30 — Introduction of Odd Sverre Østlie, CEO at Pexip

16:02 — What Pexip is and how it compares to Zoom

17:31 — Example of Pexip customers

18:04 — How Pexip is used in healthcare

19:15 — Pexip’s “perfect” IPO mid-pandemic

21:54 — An outrageously successful virtual roadshow

24:10 — Why Pexip chose to do an IPO

26:06 — Why Pexip did not choose to list in the US

27:29 — The advantages of listing in Europe

28:15 — OS’ advice for early-stage company listing in Europe

This episode is hosted by Roxanne Varza and produced by Cindy Yang. Art is by Gaëtan Lefebvre.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.