Aren't we all dwarves on the shoulders of titans?

This week two personalities passed away who became "titans" with their thought leadership and their own consistent actions. Charlie Munger and Henry Kissinger have influenced the thoughts and actions of countless leaders in their respective fields.

Warren Buffet learned from Charlie Munger that "premium companies" also have a "premium price". Buffet himself has repeated several times that this insight was decisive for the success of Berkshire Hathaway. And this success, in turn, has led to tens of billions being donated to pass on a "good planet" to the younger generation. At the Annual Shareholder Meeting a few months ago, Charlie, aged 99, and Warren answered every question for three hours. The philosophy of the Annual Meeting, the "Woodstock of Capitalism", is one that should be a model for us all. And as far as the "premium" is concerned - it also applies to startups. Munger has railed against venture capitalism in months before his death. I would have loved to discuss the issue with him from our very different European perspective.

The 100-year-old Henry Kissinger kept writing and engaging with the present, from geopolitics to AI, and was keen on imparting his wisdom to the younger generations. He leaves behind an incalculably large vacuum. Who will fill this void going forward? What leaders will stand up and ensure that populists don’t fill this space? Who is thinking about the coming generation?

Across Europe and especially in Switzerland we need to be more courageous, less satisfied with the status quo. We cannot sit back and think we can maintain our prosperity by not taking any risks, otherwise the coming generation of innovation won’t be built in Switzerland or Europe, but in the United States and China, from AI and biotech to new technology that addresses global warming. A recent article in the NZZ, which I am linking in the comments, shows how challenging it is to be an entrepreneur in Switzerland, and this should not be acceptable. We need to be collaborating across borders more intensively than ever before and not closing ourselves off to the outside world. We are part of Europe, even if we are not part of the European Union, and we could learn a lot from our friends in Britain, who, despite Brexit, continue to collaborate through programs like the Erasmus exchange program. We in Switzerland could also learn a lot about venture capital from the British - London is a motor of innovation through venture financing that is unheard of here. The same goes for Europe - the EIF is just one example we in Switzerland should look towards in embracing more risk and building more startups. The recent tax reforms in Germany around virtual shares are another area we should celebrate and emulate.?

Despite these challenges, there’s a lot of potential in Switzerland and across Europe. That’s why I am very excited to be participating at this year’s NOAH Conference in Zurich , which takes place in two weeks’ time on the 13th and 14th of December. That the leaders from 12 of our portfolio companies at b2venture will be there, discussing their own success - past and future - with Growth Investors, fills me with immense pride. We backed nearly all of these companies at the earliest stages? - 3 have already become unicorns (more on this term in another link in the comments below) and 2 more are on their way to that status in the coming months. All entrepreneurs building those companies are agents of change, bringing innovation, jobs, and new ways of doing things to the world.?

Our commitment to the next generation must focus on just that: Building new businesses that can become global success stories - premium businesses that create opportunities for the next generations.

#generationalConcept #Capitalism #Freedom #Entrepreneurship

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NOAH Conference , 1KOMMA5° , AI21 Labs , Beekeeper , Blacklane , Decentriq , DeepL , ecolytiq , Flytrex , Joblift , Ledgy , LiveEO , PriceHubble , Raisin

Marco Rodzynek , Cristian G. , Dr. Jens Wohltorf , Markus Harder , Philipp Schr?der , Dr. Stefan A. Heitmann , Tamas Giorgadse , Yariv Bash , Yoko Spirig

Andreas Goeldi , Jan-Hendrik Buerk , Jochen Gutbrod , Anna Bosch , Johanna Junkermann , Damian Zaker , Bastian van der Put , b2venture