In 2022 we tend to think that we live in a global marketplace, but regional differences still exist in VC and startups. Our guest today is Akash Bajwa, Investor at Earlybird VC. We talk with Akash about the current state of the European Startup scene, how the recent pullback is affecting things, the rise of European VC superstars like Harry Stebbings, and Earlybird’s plan for its recent $350M fund.
About Akash Bajwa:
Akash is an early-stage investor at Earlybird, one of Europe's longest-standing early-stage funds. Prior to this Akash was investing in fintech at Augmentum Fintech, and spent time in corporate venture at Barclays Ventures.
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In this episode we discuss:
02:32 Akash’s journey to becoming a tech investor
05:10 Lessons he learned as an investor at Barclays
09:01 Barclay’s investing mentality when he was there
12:21 Working and investing at Augmentum, Europe’s publicly listed FinTech fund
16:48 The tradeoffs investing from a publicly listed fund
20:18 An overview of European VC history and how it’s different from the US
26:45 The impact of YC and Silicon Valley creating brain drain in the European market
31:52 Differences in European Founders mindsets
36:51 How fundraising is different in the European market and it is evolving
40:01 Current market factors in how Earlybird is deploying capital
45:54 The effect of Harry Stebbings and others to bring attention to Europe
50:38 Plans for Earlybird’s new €350M fund
Fast Favorites:
🎙- Favorite Podcast: Invest Like The Best
📰- Favorite Newsletter/Blog: Tomasz Tunguz
📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Kindle
📈- Favorite New Trend: Rise of Creators
📚- Favorite Book: Guns, Germs, and Steel
🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Put goodwill out into the world without expectations
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