“Funding for R&D in Poland is smaller than Samsung’s R&D budget.” How Radix Ventures is shaping CEE’s deeptech hub
In 2024, Radix Ventures, a new €60 million deeptech fund, made its mark on the Polish ecosystem’s map. Vestbee spoke with its partners — Paweł Bochniarz, Wojciech Ratymirski, and Michał Urbanowski — about their journey in VC, the challenges of fundraising, and strategies for growing the region’s deeptech sector.
Angel to pre-seed: how PurposeTech is filling the funding gap in CEE
In September, PurposeTech announced the closure of its €2.3 million inaugural fund. Founder and GP Zdenek Fred Fous provided Vestbee with more insights into what sets the fund apart in the region and its plans.
"Our goal is to help companies gain traction and market validation to raise larger rounds." Interview with Lead Ventures on its €100M fund
Vestbee spoke with Balázs Haszonics, CEO at Lead Ventures, and Henrik Néninger, the firm's Associate, to discuss the performance of the first fund, emerging growth funding trends, and plans for its €100 million fund.
“We are not just a financial institution. We provide resources and actively support companies in reaching their growth ambitions.”
Wiktor Namysl, Jerzy Rozlucki, Radovan Nesrsta, and Lukas Macko shared insights on how Orbit Capital is helping regional scaleups achieve their growth ambitions, how debt financing works, and what risks and benefits it entails.
"If we see funds spending a lot of time on marketing, it puts us off." Chris Wade from Isomer Capital on mastering the VC game
Chris Wade, co-founder and Partner at Isomer Capital, shared with Marcin Łączyński, Chief of Investments at Vestbee and GP at Next Road Ventures, insights into managing a VC fund from the LP perspective.
"Founders need to have street smarts for building a business." Advice for startups from IVP
In March, IVP launched a $1.6 billion fund. We spoke with James Black, IVP's Partner, about the fund's focus on later-stage companies, the key attributes shared by successful founders, and advice on how entrepreneurs should structure their pitches to capture IVP's interest.
“Betting on B2B SaaS in the CEE region pays off”. Interview with Presto Ventures on its recent exit and Fund III launch
Vestbee spoke with Premysl Rubes, Founder and Managing Partner at Presto Ventures, discussing the firm’s performance and details of the upcoming Fund III.
“You should fundraise when you're not fundraising.” Interview with Staffan Helgesson, Creandum
Over Creandum's 20-year history, one in every six of the fund's investments has become a unicorn. In an interview with Ewa Chronowska, CEO of Vestbee and General Partner at Next Road Ventures, Staffan Helgesson shared Creandum's story and insights on building a successful VC fund.
“We value the persistence of emerging managers to keep knocking on our door until we listen.” Advice for GPs from Chris Wade, Isomer Capital
During the Vestbee CEE VC Summit, we hosted video podcasts featuring founders and Partners from leading global funds. In our first episode, Chris Wade from Isomer Capital and Marcin Łączyński from Vestbee, discussed and share valuable advice for emerging GPs.