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In this Fintech Leaders edition, I sit down with the amazing Rana Yared, General Partner at Balderton Capital, one of Europe's leading venture capital funds that has raised almost $4.5B across ten funds over the past 21 years, and has backed companies like Revolut, GoCardless, ComplyAdvantage and many more global fintech leaders.
In this episode, we discuss:
The State of Fintech and entrepreneurship in Europe and why the continent’s startup scene is booming like never before
“There has been an expansion of FinTech excellence outside of London in the last five years. It's hard to not say that is a function of Brexit. I think it is, in some respects, a function of Brexit. And we have some great FinTech companies now… in places outside of London that are really showing excellence.”
Differences between European and US founders and investors and some of the advantages found in the old continent
“In the US, the entrepreneur goes to Sandhill Road, University Avenue, or Union Square. In Europe, it's a shoe leather job. We have to go to the best founders in Berlin, Munich, Stockholm, so on and so forth...”
Balderton’s Sustainable Future Goals. Their impact on the firm’s investing strategy and why being a great investor entails producing returns, while also improving the world around you.
“We as a firm… think about what it means to be a great investor in the future, from today forward. It became very strongly felt that it wasn't just blindly returns. It was actually returns that had some sort of betterment attached to them.”
Risks of selling a company too soon or too late for your portfolio’s IRR and some lessons and reflections every VC should consider… and a lot more!
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Emerging Fintech Leaders
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Three early-stage fintech companies doing amazing things
🌱 THE BEANS (@thebeans_io on Twitter)
The Beans is the cure for being bad with money, a.k.a. the personalized cash flow management app you’ve been waiting for. The Atlanta firm’s cutting edge, evidence-based design makes personal finance intuitive for everyone. With The Beans, users can stay on top of their money habits without taking time away from what actually matters to them.
💰Funding Status: The Beans raised $2M in a June 2021 pre-seed round led by Precursor Ventures. The company is currently raising a $4M seed round.
👥 Founder: Melissa Pancoast (LinkedIn / Twitter @MGPancoast)
🏡 SMALL CHANGE (@OurSmallChange on Twitter)
With Small Change, anyone can be a real estate mogul. Users get educated in real estate and pick projects with a purpose to micro-invest in. By becoming passive investors in housing developments, vacation properties, urban revivals, and more, Small Change builds a community around real estate investing. Developers gain engaged, caring partners, and investors gain returns with impact beyond their bank account.
💰Funding Status: Small Change was recently named a member of the FinHealth Accelerator’s 2022 Cohort and has yet to raise outside capital.
👥 Founder: Eve Picker (LinkedIn)
🎲 HEDGE (@HedgeInvestApp on Twitter)
There’s been a huge groundswell of community-based forums for retail investing in the past year, so why can’t you actually make investments with your friends? Trading knowledge is one thing, but with Hedge you can build a hedge fund with your peers and trade legitimate assets from stocks to NFTs. Once you’ve invited friends to a group, everyone can pool their money, propose trades, and vote on which should be executed. Hedge’s new wave of collaborative investing bridges Web2 and Web3 concepts to unlock a new form of collaborative investing.
💰Funding Status: Hedge has yet to raise outside capital. The firm has partnered with Launch House and On Deck’s startup development programs.
👥 Co-Founders: Kyle Al-Rawi (LinkedIn / Twitter @KyleAlRawiHedge) and Yash Khandelwal (LinkedIn / Twitter @YashK1126)
Want to break onto the fintech scene with a feature in our newsletter? Introduce us to your startup! You can also find the full list of featured companies here.
-Thank you for reading!
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Miguel Armaza is Co-Founder & Managing General Partner of Gilgamesh Ventures, a seed-stage investment fund focused on fintech in the Americas. He also hosts and writes the Fintech Leaders podcast and newsletter.
Balderton Capital General Partner, Rana Yared – Europe’s Massive Fintech Opportunity, Balderton’s Sustainable Future Goals, & Portfolio Reflections for VCs