Briefly Issue # 1 on VC People Insights

Dear Reader –?

Welcome to a new idea: Briefly. A newsletter on insights into European Venture Capital. This is a round-up on data, news and stories about the heart of VC: people funding the future.?

In the world of venture capital, people are everything. As the European VC landscape continues evolving, so do the firms and individuals driving it forward. In this first edition, we'll dive deeply into the latest talent movements across the industry, from new hires and promotions to departures and notable industry trends.?

Join in to explore the humans and firms shaping the future of European venture capital.

My name is Julia Dous, and I am passionate about diversifying cap tables. I accomplish this through angel investing and advising VCs on talent acquisition to grow more diverse investment teams, boards, and C-suites within their portfolios.

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What's in issue #1?

• 2022 Investors Talent Strategies
• Who's Hiring? - VC Job Opportunities
• Who's In? – News on VC Announcements
• Stay connected

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2022 INVESTORS TALENT STRATEGIES?

Despite the challenging economic conditions, the venture capital industry in Europe is showing remarkable resilience, with leading VC teams expanding and diversifying in 2022.?

My recent analysis focusing on gender diversity in European VC investment teams looked at the team compositions of 20 VCs with a European headquarter and European investment team members. The VCs were selected based on Dealroom's ranking of EMEA overall, seed and early-stage funds, and include notable names such as Index Ventures, Dawn Capital, EQT Ventures, and Atomico. The research did not consider Venture or Operating Partners (e.g., finance, legal, people, and investor relations).?

The data revealed that most major VC investment teams in Europe are growing. Fifty-four new investors joined the top league, with only 28 leaving, demonstrating the strength of the industry's hiring practices. Among the most active funds recruiting investors was Lakestar with eight new hires, followed by Speedinvest, Balderton, and Eurazeo with five each, and HV Capital, Accel, and Atomico with four each. This data points to a promising future for the European venture capital industry, which is continuing to attract top talent despite the macroeconomic challenges.

In 2022, female investors played a crucial role in the growth and diversification of European venture capital teams. The study revealed that out of the 54 new hires, 29 were women (53%), whereas out of the 28 departures, only seven were female (25%). As a result, the gender ratio of net team addition was 85%, bringing the overall female representation at the top 20 European VCs to 34%.?

These new developments have also led to gender balance at the junior (51%) and mid-level (50%) positions, which shows a significant investment in the mid-to-long-term senior-level (16%) talent pipeline.

Several VCs have achieved gender balance in their investment teams, including Index Ventures (58%), Dawn Capital and EQT Ventures (46%), and Balderton Capital (45%).

However, the study also highlights substantial regional differences in female representation, with UK funds leading the way at 41%, followed by Scandinavian VCs (34%), French VCs (32%), and DACH VCs (25%). Speedinvest, Lakestar, and HV Capital are way above the average within their respective regions.

Notably, European VC firms excel in attracting and retaining senior talent, with 18 partner appointments announced in 2022, of which nine were female. These trends demonstrate a positive outlook for gender diversity and talent retention in the European venture capital industry.

Female partners overall increased to 26 at the top 20. Among these, LocalGlobe with five female partners, followed by Atomico, Speedinvest, and Eurazeo with four each, and EQT Ventures with three. Dawn Capital has two female partners, and another third of the VCs have one female partner. However, one disheartening headline remains unchanged from last year, with one-third of Europe's top VC firms still lacking a single female partner. Despite the progress in gender diversity, there is still a long way to go to achieve gender balance in the industry.

Diversification Talent Strategies

The past year has shown that internal promotions are essential for top-level growth, with 60% of newly-appointed partners being homegrown. The gender-balanced mid-level talent pipeline promises to be a significant factor in the future diversification of senior-level positions. Notably, the most robust female principal pipelines for potential partner promotions are currently with Index Ventures (7), Balderton (3) and Lakestar (3).

Another effective diversification strategy is to continue to broaden the hiring funnel. Most of new VC hires (57%) still come from the VC and PE industries, while another 28% comes from operator hires. Investment banking (17%) is an in-road mostly to junior-level VC positions.

One critical success factor for building diverse, equal, and inclusive investment teams is to make it a long-term initiative supported by dedicated resources. Since 2020, most VCs have installed People and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) team members to champion this. The VCs that have been most successful in inclusive hiring have both the resources and the Partner attention. Best in class for inclusive investment team hiring over three years are Speedinvest (12), Eurazeo (9), Balderton/Lakestar (8), and HV Capital (7).?

Why DEI matters

As part of the industry's ESG strategy, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has become an essential factor in fundraising. In 2019, the European Union issued the first stage of their Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Under the SFDR, all EU funds are categorised within three levels that define standards on mandatory disclosure requirements: Articles 6, 8, and 9. In 2022, the two most significant funds raised in history, EQT Ventures fund III with €1.1bn and Northzone fund 10 with $1bn, have already committed to Article 8 under SFDR, which highlights the importance of DEI in the fundraising process. Other funds are expected to follow suit.

Overall, 2022 has shown substantial progress towards greater diversity among top-tier European VC firms, which is an exciting development. The industry is on a high trajectory. Using this momentum to challenge beliefs, shift behaviour, build capabilities, and foster an inclusive culture within European VC firms is crucial. This is ultimately the foundation for successful European startup innovation. By prioritising DEI and building inclusive investment teams, the industry can create a more equitable and sustainable future for the industry and society.

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WHO IS HIRING?

• HV Capital: Analyst/Associate Growth-Stage, Berlin
• Northzone: VC Associate, London
• Speedinvest: Associate FinTech, Berlin / Associate Marketplace and Consumer / Principal Health Team, Berlin or Munich?
• Cherry Ventures: Investment Analyst and Investment Manager SaaS, Berlin?

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WHO IS IN?

As reported in recent news, several leading European venture capital firms have made significant changes to their investment teams.?

Project A has announced two new partners, including Malin Posern, who will be joining later this year from Passion Capital, where she is currently a General Partner. She will focus on expanding investments in the UK and the Nordics, based in London. Meanwhile, Philipp Werner has been promoted. His significant impact on Project A's portfolio includes working closely with companies such as Trade Republic, Kry, and Catawiki.

Northzone has also announced a new addition to its partnership in London, with Sanjot Malhi joining to focus on growth investments across geographies and sectors. Malhi was previously with Tybourne Capital Management, a multi-billion dollar fund that invests across public and private markets in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Cherry Ventures has also added a new partner, Jasper Masemann, who will lead AI and B2B software investments. Before joining Cherry, Masemann was a partner at HV Capital in Berlin, where he worked with well over a dozen founding teams, including Verbit, Sastrify, Hadrian, and Ultimate.ai.

Atomico has promoted two partners, Hillary Ball and Andreas Helbig, who have played vital roles in some of the firm's most exciting growth stage investments. Ball has worked closely with Sorare, MasterClass, Framer, Gympass, SmartNews, and Quit Genius. In contrast, Helbig has a strong geographical focus on the Nordics and Baltics and is particularly interested in B2B software. Both joined Atomico early in their careers, Ball as an Associate in 2017 and Helbig as a VP in 2020.

In addition, Northzone's Deepka Rana, Maxine Rior, and Markus Gleim have been promoted to Principal, while Earlybird has promoted Nina Mayer to Principal in team Digital West.

These changes signal exciting developments for the European venture capital industry and investment teams' ongoing growth and diversification.

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STAY CONNECTED?

That's it for today. Huge shout out to all "partners in crime". Let me know what you think, and let's shape the upcoming "Briefly." editions together. Thank you for sharing, commenting and reading. Feel free to tag anyone interested in finding???, funding???, and fostering???diversity in the space.

Next issue: A look at top tier fund's portfolio diversity with voices of Deepali Nangia, Anna Ott and Johannes Lenhard. Subscribe to stay tuned.

Julia