Varun Rekhi: The Roaring 20s Mentality: How Europe Can Celebrate Success in Tech

In this episode of Nothing Ventured, host Aarish Shah welcomes Varun Rekhi:, a growth investor at Speed invest, to discuss the evolving landscape of venture capital in Europe. Varun shares insights on why he believes Europe's flywheel is broken, highlighting that the continent faces an output problem rather than an input problem. He emphasises the need for a "roaring 20s mentality" in Europe, akin to the celebratory spirit seen in the U.S. Varun delves into the four Ts of early-stage investing—team, total addressable market (TAM), timing, and traction—while contrasting them with the focus on commercial, financial, and legal aspects in growth-stage investments. He also discusses the importance of developing creative exit strategies and the value of engaging in messy real-world environments to foster first principles thinking. Tune in for an enlightening conversation on the future of venture investing across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction to Varun Rekhi and the Podcast 00:01:04 - Europe's Venture Ecosystem: A Broken Flywheel 00:02:44 - Macro Context of Venture Capital in Europe 00:03:46 - Understanding Europe's Output Problem 00:05:53 - The Mindset of Public Market Investors 00:08:07 - Celebrating Wealth Creation in Europe 00:10:07 - The Impact of Capital Markets on Growth 00:12:07 - The Role of Talent and Infrastructure in Europe 00:14:13 - Opportunities for Founders in the Current Climate 00:15:51 - The Importance of Distribution and Voice for Founders 00:18:00 - Navigating Early-Stage vs. Growth-Stage Investing 00:22:08 - Key Metrics for Growth-Stage Startups 00:25:19 - The Shift in Investment Focus and Trends 00:29:34 - Advice for Founders on Fundraising 00:30:44 - The Changing Landscape of Venture Capital 00:32:13 - The Rise of Capital Efficiency in Startups 00:37:05 - Future Trends in Direct Listings and Secondaries 00:42:23 - Adapting the Venture Capital Model for Europe Find Varun Rekhi online at: LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varunrekhi/ Twitter: https: https://x.com/RekhiVarun Speedinvest: https://www.speedinvest.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe