Special Edition #20 - Exploring Europe with Nicolas Colin (European Straits)

Creator of "European Straits", entrepreneur and investor

Mar 10, 2024

In this special edition, we delve into a mix of strategy, culture, and deep thoughts on innovation with Nicolas Colin. We touch on a variety of subjects, encouraging us to pause and consider how tech ecosystems have emerged across Europe.

During this episode, Nicolas shares his insights on venture capital over the last 15 years, elaborating on why things haven't quite unfolded as expected.

Drawing from his rich experience, thoughtful reflections, essays, and readings, he prompts us to contemplate the future of Europe. He discusses the continent's challenges in comparison to the United States and China, explores potential new development paths, and speculates on the future direction of venture capital.

Interwoven throughout this discussion, we revisit the experience of “The Family” and some of the lessons he has learned from it.

This longer, reflective episode offers a chance to step back and ponder these diverse topics, making it a thought-provoking discussion on Europe's innovation landscape..

Finding calm

My first introduction to venture capital was at UBS in 2003 during a meeting with a team from Zurich. They were there to introduce us to the group's offerings in Private Equity, Infrastructure, and Real Estate. At the time, we were creating funds of funds to provide European clients access to a variety of primarily American funds, blending strategies from LBOs, distressed assets, and venture capital. Prominent names included Carlyle, KKR, and Blackstone.

To me, venture capital was a niche investment class focused on early-stage companies needing significant funding, especially in advanced technology sectors. This was after the dot-com bubble burst, when venture funding had shrunk to around USD 20 billion—down fivefold from its peak in 2000. The current market cooldown reminds me of the 2002 collapse.

Nicolas shares some thoughts on how he sees it evolving and encourages us to think about Europe's approach to innovation financing..

Who is Nicolas?

Nicolas is an investor with a background as a senior civil servant. He’s widely known for co-founding and directing “The Family”, an accelerator that started in France in 2013.

He shares his insights on the European tech scene through articles in the Financial Times and Sifted, as well as in his own newsletter, which he’s been publishing since early 2017.

His work

Nicolas has written hundreds of articles on a wide variety of subjects like innovation and technology, the economy, investing, entrepreneurship and start-ups, politics, work, and education.

One article by Nicolas that stands out, especially in the context of our discussion, is “Diffracted VC: The Categories”. It looks at how venture capital has evolved and diversified, moving beyond its traditional boundaries by 2021. He covers emerging trends such as the growth of secondary markets, the rise of new managers, multi-asset strategies, and the increasing interest of private equity managers in VC. Reflecting on these trends three years on is particularly insightful.

👉 Note: Don't miss the next episode on March 17th, in English, with Dr. André Retterath. It will explore the impact of AI on the VC industry.