Ecosystem Profile Picture: Poland

Find out what's happening in each European ecosystem from the VC perspective!  To better understand the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic, we embarked on a journey through various startup scenes, big and small. We took the first Profile Picture in Poland, close to our home. We hope that the findings will improve your understanding of the Polish VC ecosystem and help you navigate your actions in these turbulent times.

Shooting for the VC moon with Luis Shemtov from Lunar Ventures

Investor, hacker, psychologist, software engineer — Luis Shemtov is a man of many skills, VC prime among them. This jack of all trades is one of the founders of Lunar Ventures, a Berlin-based European VC firm.

An investor with conviction — an interview with Markus Grundmann

Markus loves to play offense, to move fast and break things in a conscious way, and also to be extremely focused and geared towards maximizing his impact whatever he sets out to do. 

Listen and empathize — an interview with Pippa Lamb

The most critical thing to do as a VC is to build a trusted relationship with founders. You need to be able to put yourself in their shoes. 

Scoring a home run - lessons from Bryan Wood

Investing in “good” startups is not the only key to a successful VC. In our recent conversation, Bryan Wood, the founder of Alta Berkeley, shifted the focus from what to invest in — to how to do it. 

I wanted to be different, I wanted to be in a position to make decisions

A lot of people overlook the distinction between a willingness versus the ability to make a decision. You need to understand the difference.

You become emotionally attached to the companies you back

While celebrating victories might be the best side of venture capital - saying no to companies you back is definitely one of the hardest.