YZ Yuanzhe Fu is thrilled to be joined by Ertan Can, founder at Multiple Capital, the proud backer of European MicroVCs.
After screening 2k+ VC funds and investing 40+ of them, Ertan keeps learning from 1000+ portfolio companies, of which 20+ are unicorns.
If you want to learn how to invest in European MicroVCs, Ertan is your go-to person. By the way, he's based in Luxembourg. It is a country, as well as a city.

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Cyrus Yari, co-founder at Rational VC, the podcast-turned-VC fund charging 0 management fee and investing alongside Founders Fund, A16z, Sam Altman, among others.
In 3 core values Cyrus believes: authenticity, truth-seeking, long-termism. He may have the best understanding of the positive black swans and asymmetric bets advocated by Nassim Taleb.

Impressed by his words, life's meaning revolves around freedom, personal growth, and contributing positively to society.

Chapters

🏃00:00 Cyrus's Journey to Rational VC
💪06:19 The Power of Positive Black Swans and Asymmetric Bets
💡11:35 Rational VC: A Different Approach to Venture Capital
🤔17:58 The Long Game: Building a Media Company Around Timeless Ideas
🎲25:15 Investing in Deep Tech and Life Sciences: A Focus on Impact
🧐33:26 The Meaning of Life: Freedom, Growth, and Impact

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Eugene Zhang, General Partner at TSVC, the 1st tech angel fund in silicon valley led by Chinese American.
Eugene is a proud backer in Zoom, Carta, Iterable, among others. The current fund size of TSVC is $500M.

Highlights

YZ: As an angel and angel fund manager, how do you decide investment amounts for both the fund and personally in a promising startup?
Eugene: Our consensus is fund first and personal participation is a sign of commitment to back the startup.

YY: How long does it take to invest in a case?
Eugene: Sometimes within a day. We have a talk in the morning and we invest in the afternoon. Otherwise, it takes longer. But we try to satisfy the founder’s needs.

Chapters
00:00 From Tsinghua to Silicon Valley 🚀
06:01 Thriving through Early Startups🌱
08:30 First Steps to TSVC 💰
14:35 1st VC Investor of Zoom 🌟
21:19 Founders & Market 🏢
24:48 Secrets of Early Investing 🎯
29:56 Early Valuations 📈
31:04 Early Investing Lessons 🅿️
32:42 AI Era Opportunities 🤖
35:22 Silicon Valley's Future 🌐
39:01 Meaning of Life 💭

Links

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Peter Lasinger, General Partner at 3VC, largest series-A fund in Austria investing in Europe.

Peter is a proud investor in PicsArt, DeepCodeAI, StoryBlok, Lokalise, Tatum, Kaia Health, among others. One of the earlierst VCs in Austria, Peter candidly shares his journey into venture capital, providing valuable insights into the evolution of the European VC market, the significance of data-driven strategies, and the pivotal role of market fit and team dynamics in investment decisions.

Highlights:

YZ: What do you think will be the most important fit in the era of AI?
Peter: The product market fit + a tight alignment of infrastructure, hardware, GPUs, algorithms, and the data layer, which needs to work cohesively to create value.

YZ: Do you still believe that the return is still parallel to the risk in early stage venture capital industry right now?
Peter: Of course, I say yes, because I have my own money in the fund and I wouldn't do the job if I don't believe that there is a super high lever.

YZ: What kind of advice would you give to the younger self?
Peter: Not to be discouraged. Be a little bit more patient, trust your friends, your skills, your networks.

Chapters:

00:00 🚀 Peter's Journey to Venture Capital
04:15 🌍 The Evolution of the European VC Market
10:19 💼 3VC's Strategy: Quality Over Quantity
14:57 📊 The Role of Data in Venture Capital
21:22 🤝 The Importance of Market Fit and Shared Vision
26:30 📚 Learning from Failures and the Importance of Team
30:05 🧠 AI Market Fit: A Complex Equation
36:05 🌐 The Importance of Localization and AI's Role
38:55 🤖 3VC's AI Investing Thesis
43:05 🚀 The Future of Venture Capital
47:41 💡 Peter's Perspective on Life and Meaning

Links:

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Jiang Xu, Executive Director at Vertex Ventures China, senior VC investor in tech and new energy.

Jiang was previously a consultant and new business manager at 36Kr. This episode focuses on Ms. Jiang's investment journey, highlighting the transition from an employee's mindset to an investor's outlook. It touches on fundraising, valuation, and sector choice, showcasing the growth mindset and team's technical strengths essential for successful founders. The discussion also looks at the future of China's venture capital scene and personal development in the field, emphasizing rational investing and ongoing education.

Highlights:

YZ: What sets a successful seed fund apart?
Christian: What sets a successful seed fund apart is that they can get into difficult deals.

YZ: How do you evaluate founders who don't fit the traditional criteria?
Christian: By conducting in-depth interviews with non-obvious unicorn founders and using AI to analyze the data, we are able to identify specific factors and questions that help predict the success of an immigrant founder without a network in the US.

YZ: What's a perfect founder profile for you now?
Christian: Founders who have experience building and are very cognizant of the mistakes they made in the past. They should have a new idea for a market where they can compete effectively. Hunger, technical capability, and experience are also important factors. Additionally, having a team and experience working together in the past is preferred, as it makes coordination and decision-making easier.

Chapters:

00:15 💼 Fundraising in China
02:32 🔄 From Consulting to VC
05:25 🤖 AI Investing: Learning and Contemplation
08:31 🛠 Framework for Hardware Tech Investment
12:25 📊 Valuation Logic in China
20:27 🛣️ Doubling Down on Which Sector
21:53 📉 From Quantity to Quality
26:32 🕒 Portfolio Management
31:46 🚀 Future of China's Venture Capital
40:29 💬 The Biggest Bubble: AI
42:23 🌈 Differentiation in Fundraising
43:24 🌱 Meaning of Life
49:12 📰 Value of VC Media
52:37 🏋️ Secret to Staying Energized

Links:

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Christian Dorffer, Founder at Defiance Capital, seed investor in B2B SaaS and AI in Europe and the US.

Christian was previously the CEO of Sweet Capital, having backed 100+ early-stage deals. His publication Unicorn Founder DNA on 1000+ unicorns was cited by TechCrunch. He was also a founder backed by Index Ventures among others. Now, Christian is starting his new fund!

Highlights:

YZ: What sets a successful seed fund apart?
Christian: What sets a successful seed fund apart is that they can get into difficult deals.

YZ: How do you evaluate founders who don't fit the traditional criteria?
Christian: By conducting in-depth interviews with non-obvious unicorn founders and using AI to analyze the data, we are able to identify specific factors and questions that help predict the success of an immigrant founder without a network in the US.

YZ: What's a perfect founder profile for you now?
Christian: Founders who have experience building and are very cognizant of the mistakes they made in the past. They should have a new idea for a market where they can compete effectively. Hunger, technical capability, and experience are also important factors. Additionally, having a team and experience working together in the past is preferred, as it makes coordination and decision-making easier.

Chapters:

00:00 🤝 Backing Right Founders
04:04 🎓 PhD to VC Journey
07:53 🌟 Immigrant Unicorns
10:37 🔍 Non-Traditional Founders
14:14 🤔 Non-Obvious Entrepreneurs
18:01 💼 Challenges of Unicorns
21:26 🧐 Mentors & Founder Profiles
25:41 💼 Experience in Founder Selection
28:52 🚀 Talent & Innovations
32:44 📊 Sales & Seed Fund Value
36:18 🔄 Support for Serial Founders
40:17 🛠️ Skills & Startups
43:28 💡 Flexibility in Investing
48:12 🌱 Life's Curiosity & Progress
51:51 🌐 Chinese Founders & Medicine
56:37 📚 VC Podcasting Bridges

Links:

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Reinder Lubbers, Founder at No Such Ventures, investing €2-8M deal by deal sector-agnostically.

Reinder previously represented Netherlands at the Beijing Olympic Games in Rowing. He was the former COO of software scale-up 24i and investment banker and VC investor.

Highlights:

YZ: Is it necessary to like the founders you are investing in?
Reinder: The truth is no, you don't have to like them. You must trust each other a little bit, ensuring you have the right intentions.

YZ: How was your overall Olympic experience in Beijing back then?
Reinder: My overall experience in Beijing was amazing; I appreciated how the Chinese people strived to do things right, which added to the uniqueness of the event.

YZ: How do you manage to screen investment deals from a broad deal flow when approaches can vary among investors?
Reinder: Having over a hundred individuals investing with us creates an extra sourcing channel we really like. We often try to involve a couple of these investors in our core meetings to help screen the companies because that helps enormously.

Chapters:

00:03 🚣 From Olympic Rower to Venture Capitalist
04:41 📚 The Lessons Learned from Rowing
09:34 🤝 Building Trust and Relationships
12:18 🏅 Earning Respect and Proving Business Acumen
14:16 💼 The Hustle and Challenges of Early Venture Capital
19:37 🧐 Explaining Deal-by-deal Venture Capital to Traditional Investors
22:34 🎯 Targeting Entrepreneurial Investors
26:37 📈 Deal-by-Deal vs. Traditional VC
32:57 💰 The Role of Carry and Entrepreneurial Spirit
36:31 📊 Early Days and Building a Long-Term Track Record
40:00 🔍 Leveraging Networks and Investor Involvement
47:03 🇳🇱 The Dutch VC Culture
52:35 🌏 Welcoming Global Opportunities
54:12 💭 The Meaning of Life
57:57 📝 Stay Focused and Seek Experience

Links:

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr

YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Liang Zhu, Partner at China Prosperity Capital.
Liang made his way into venture capital from a lawyer background.
He started to invest in hardware and deeptech in China a decade ago.
Previously, he worked with a Chinese public company and a top10 hardware tech VC in China.

Highlights:

YZ: How do approach early-stage hardware tech investing?
Liang: Firstly, you should approach the scientists and professors with a mindset of making friends. Understand them and even read a few of their papers. This can trigger in-depth discussions and promote mutual understanding.

YY: What is the carry advance system, and what makes it attractive?
Liang: It's designed to provide incentives for investors and help them see returns early. The lifetime carry system, further developed on this basis, enhances the sense of belonging and motivation among employees.

YZ: What is the meaning of life?
Liang: The impact that doing these things has on the people around you and your industry determines its significance.

Chapters:

00:04 💼 Investment Essence
03:01 🤝 Befriend Scientists
05:04 👣 Three-Step Trust
06:02 🚀 Entrepreneur Value
08:52 🕒 Team & Timing
10:08 🌟 Hope in Tech
13:11 🎖️ Invest in Military
15:59 🛠️ Non-Military Tech
21:59 🙅‍♂️ Three Nos in Invest
26:18 💰 Early Valuation
29:56 🔋 Solid Batteries
33:31 💡 Empower Startups
38:10 💸 Funds Evolution
40:21 🛤️ Exit Strategies
42:40 🏆 Capital Highlights
46:04 📈 Unique Systems
48:46 🌱 Life's Meaning
50:49 🛡️ Keep the Faith

Links:

• Substack
• YouTube
• LinkedIn
• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• X
• 小红书
• Bilibili
• 36Kr