Capital Conversations: Insights into the World of Venture Capital

Rob Trice is an established international venture capital investor. He is currently leveraging his background in telecom, mobile and internet investing to fund companies that apply IT to the food and agriculture sectors via Better Food Ventures, a seed stage investment entity established in 2013.Jim Pulcrano is Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management. He has extensive expertise in entrepreneurship, particularly startup culture, strategy, customer centricity, marketing, and disruption.***Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

Cendana Capital is a San Francisco-based fund of funds investing in early-stage venture capital ventures. The firm was launched in 2010 and has over $2B in assets. Cendana has invested in many VC teams that have gone on to enjoy great success, like Forerunner Ventures, K9 Ventures, and IA Ventures.In this episode, the founder of Cendana, Michael Kim, focuses specifically on the strategies institutional LPs use to evaluate and partner with new and emerging GPs, covering key topics like identifying high-potential investments, navigating long-term portfolios, leveraging secondary opportunities, and assessing cultural fluency in global markets.***Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/This podcast was editorialized by Raphael Grieco, VC Researcher at IMD

Liz Campbell, CIO at Portfolio Advisors, discusses the challenges of realising returns in an increasingly sophisticated VC market. Founded in 1994, Portfolio Advisors is an experienced private markets manager with dedicated primary, secondary, co-investment, real estate and direct credit teams. In 2023, Portfolio Advisors combined with FS Investments, a pioneer in the democratization of alternative assets. Together, they manage over $82 billion in assets.***Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

Since its inception, VenCap has committed $2.9 billion to over 450 venture capital funds in the US, Europe, China and India. As CIO David Clark has decades of experience and access to unparalleled data, and in this episode of Capital Conversations he explores the cycles, metrics and misconceptions associated with VC.***Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

Sia Houchangia joined Seedcamp as an intern in 2014 and became a partner in 2017. Seedcamp is a leading European seed fund that has backed over 500 tech-driven startups, including Sorare, Revolut, UiPath, Wise, and Synthesia.****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

France's national investment bank, led by Nicolas Dufourc, finances businesses at every stage of development through loans, guarantees, and equity investments. In this week's episode, we explore its pivotal role in fostering entrepreneurship through a grassroots approach to innovation and commitment to supporting diverse communities. Dufourc discusses why Bpifrance emphasizes the importance of perseverance and risk-taking among entrepreneurs, and how he works to create a holistic ecosystem of support for them. He promotes accessibility and inclusivity at every stage, and Bpifrance may well serve as a model for other countries that want to drive innovation and economic resilience. Details on the 2023 results of Bpifrance can be found here.****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

Over the past decade, American VCs have outraised their European counterparts by hundreds of billions of dollars. But why? Nathaniel Arnold and Jan-Martin Frie say several factors are at play, including fragmented markets, a disparity in private capital, and Europe's comparative absence of institutional investors. The result has been a "scale-up gap" pushing promising EU startups to seek foreign funding.In this episode of Capital Conversations, Arnold and Frie explore the challenges and opportunities in the European VC landscape, and discuss how the "brain drain" effect is hampering the growth of startups on the continent.Nate Arnold is the IMF’s Deputy Resident Representative to the EU in Brussels. Before that he worked on the euro area team, Nordic countries, and in the Fiscal Affairs department at the IMF headquarters in Washington. Jan Frie is an economist in the IMF’s Brussels office. He has also worked at the European Commission and the think tank, CEPS. Their paper 'Stepping up Venture Capital to Finance Innovation in Europe' can be found here, or through their blog. ****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program visit: imd.org/finance/vam/

How do investors strike the delicate balance between fund size, investment strategy, and portfolio construction to maximize returns?In today's markets, that's a tricky question. VCs need to keep one eye on waning IPO activity and intensifying competition while also grappling with unpredictable market dynamics.One firm that has done this successfully is Speedinvest – much to the credit of its co-founding partner Daniel Keiper-Knorr. The firm focuses on early-stage investments and has offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna, and total assets under management exceeding €1bn. In this episode of Capital Conversations, Keiper-Knorr discusses the story behind Speedinvest and the complex craft of fund sizing and modeling.****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program click here

How do investors strike the delicate balance between fund size, investment strategy, and portfolio construction to maximize returns?In today's markets, that's a tricky question. VCs need to keep one eye on waning IPO activity and intensifying competition while also grappling with unpredictable market dynamics.One firm that has done this successfully is Speedinvest – much to the credit of its co-founding partner Daniel Keiper-Knorr. The firm focuses on early-stage investments and has offices in Berlin, London, Munich, Paris, and Vienna, and total assets under management exceeding €1bn. In this episode of Capital Conversations, Keiper-Knorr discusses the story behind Speedinvest and the complex craft of fund sizing and modeling.****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program click here

In the high-stakes context of venture capital, portfolio triage isn't just a strategy – it's a survival skill. As markets shift and startups struggle, VCs face the brutal task of deciding which companies to save and which to let go. But it's not just about cold, hard numbers. It's a delicate dance of managing expectations, balancing resources, and sometimes delivering hard truths to passionate founders Michael Stucky is Chief Investment Officer at Serpentine Ventures and a coach and mentor of young entrepreneurs and spin-off companies from ETH Zurich (ETHZ). In this episode, we dive into the trenches with Michael and explore how VCs navigate the treacherous waters of portfolio triage, and what it means for both investors and startups when the lifeboats are limited and not everyone can make the cut.  ****Through our research, thought leadership, and annual program, IMD’s Venture Asset Management Initiative aims to demystify venture asset management in Switzerland and across Europe.To find out more about IMD visit imd.orgFor more information about our Venture Capital Asset Management program click here