Taavet Hinrikus is a Partner at Plural, the early-stage fund that backs the most ambitious founders on a mission to change the world through technology. He co-founded Wise in 2010, where he was CEO and later Chairman, which went public in the first-ever direct listing in Europe in 2021. Prior to that, Taavet was Skype’s Director of Strategy until 2008, having joined as its first employee. He’s been an active investor for more than a decade, with personal investments in the likes of Bolt and Synthesia.
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In Today’s Episode We Discuss:
00:00 Intro
03:27 VCs are Spreadsheet Monkeys
09:53 Why Serial Entrepreneurs Are Better
12:48 Why the 2:20 Fee and Carry Model in VC is Broken
25:32 What are the Biggest Ways VC Investment Decision-Making is Broken
29:13 Why is it BS when VC Firms Need Every Partner to Meet the Founder
39:57 When and Why Will Founders Realise Multi-Stage Firms are Bad Early Investors
42:48 Why Does Europe Need to Build it’s Own Tech Now More Than Ever
44:26 What are the Dangers of Having US Made Tech in Europe
50:02 Will Putin Invade More European Countries
52:27 How Does the Change in Relationship Between the US and Europe Impact How We Build Our Tech Ecosystem?
59:40 Quick-Fire Questions & Reflections
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