#79 VC Insights in London, UK, Europe

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Headlines Remind us London, Europe is a Big Deal for Venture Capital

It’s been an exciting year thus far for London, the UK, and Europe more broadly. As increased regulation and scrutiny builds in the United States, we’ve seen a different approach to technology (including AI and web3) in London and Europe. Major VCs such as Sequoia and a16z have opened offices and made major investments. Here are some recent headlines that give context:

My colleague Jamesin Seidel released a great piece on her journey into UK venture. I highly encourage you to check out the full piece to get her insights on the UK and European ecosystem and how we’ve established a VC presence there before many of the funds that are making headlines today. A few highlights from Jamesin here (she invests in AI, ML, data, and infrastructure early-stage startups across all verticals):

  • 18 months ago, I moved from San Francisco to the UK. I changed cities, and careers. Leaving Twitter, I entered VC to join an early-stage venture fund Chapter One led by Jeff Morris Jr.

  • I wrote about my experience and the advantages I see to VC teams spanning the globe, full post here: https://lnkd.in/eB5V4YKw

TL;DR --

  • So much of VC is about people, not money. You need to know the actual humans behind the companies, technologies, markets, and funds. The Valley and SF have created one concentration of people, London, another -- a different landscape of academic thought, regulation, and diversity.

  • Diversity in distribution and concentrations allow VCs to have different forms of information inflows, human links, and networks. Our job is to merge and make sense of it all -- gain insights, and make decisions on both a local and global scale.

  • Remote team: Chapter One’s home base is Los Angeles with an office in Santa Monica, but our investment team is remote, and we see this as an advantage. We span across Los Angeles, New York, and London, and know that exceptional talent and companies can be created anywhere.

  • New networks: So it may be finding new networks in London, or it might be taking what you learn from a new city and applying it to companies in the Valley. We believe different locations and ways of thinking add value in different ways.

London: A History

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