Podcast
Scaling Europe
Hosted by Sebastian Johnson · ENGLISH
Every week Seb Johnson sits down with 5 of Europe's best builders and investors to talk about what's going on in European Tech.
Prior guests include the founders of Lovable, Cleo, Voi an Zilch, as well as top VCs from 20VC, Index, Balderton and Creandum.
231episodes
Episodes
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Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures: How founders are building and leading companies in the AI era
May 1200:49:51Tap to summarizeEuropean founders are still going to the US earlier than ever, but AI is now changing how the companies they build actually operate.Martin Mignot, Partner at Index Ventures, looks at this shift from inside a global firm working with founders on both sides of the Atlantic. For founders and CEOs, AI is becoming much bigger than a tooling question. The challenge is to rethink how the company works before the old structure slows them down.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:32 - European founders going global earlier2:12 - How AI is changing company building3:02 - CEOs learning from San Francisco4:39 - Founder mode and AI leadership7:20 - How Index helps founders through the shift9:48 - Why Index invested in Anthropic13:04 - Index’s AI strategy17:17 - Assessing AI founders21:07 - Explore vs exploit in AI22:19 - Index’s AI portfolio24:27 - Why Index operates as one global team27:24 - The trade-offs of a global partnership
Transcribe →James Regan, CEO of Oriole Networks: Building radically faster networks for AI
May 800:26:59Tap to summarizeAI data centres are running into a network bottleneck as models demand more bandwidth, more connected processors and dramatically more power.James Regan, CEO of Oriole Networks, thinks the industry is still trying to scale architectures that fundamentally do not work at the size AI is heading towards. Oriole’s approach replaces electrical packet switches with photonic switching technology designed to move data optically across the data centre, with the long-term goal of connecting a million XPUs in a single hop while cutting power consumption at the same time.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:27 - What Oriole Networks is building1:48 - Why optical switching matters for AI4:50 - The network bottleneck problem7:22 - Prism Ultra and scaling AI infrastructure10:24 - Industry reaction to Prism Ultra12:49 - US vs European deep tech investors16:07 - What James does differently as a repeat founder20:27 - Spinning companies out of universities24:15 - Why founders should avoid weak early deals25:53 - Recognising bad VC deals as a repeat founder
Transcribe →Kevin Smith, CEO at Venture Comet: Helping founders unlock equity earlier in their startup journey
May 700:21:45Tap to summarizeFounders can spend years building valuable companies while paying themselves almost nothing, with all of the upside locked away until an exit that may still be years off.Kevin Smith, CEO at Venture Comet, is building a platform that helps founders release a small amount of equity earlier in the journey instead of waiting for a single make-or-break outcome at the end. One of the biggest shifts he points to is how much investor attitudes around founder secondaries have changed, with far more acceptance that giving founders some financial breathing room can actually help companies last longer and build bigger outcomes.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction1:07 - What Venture Comet does2:20 - Why founders struggle in years 3-54:52 - When founders should consider secondaries6:24 - Why Kevin started the company8:36 - The rise of founder secondaries11:17 - How Venture Comet works with investors13:48 - The future of Venture Comet16:38 - Building differently the second time around19:23 - Staying focused as a second-time founder
Transcribe →June Angelides MBE, Founder of the Portfolio Method and Venture Partner at Samos Investments: Building a platform to manage multiple roles and income streams
May 600:17:50Tap to summarizeMost people running multiple roles have no clear way to price their work or decide what is actually worth their time.June Angelides MBE, Founder of the Portfolio Method and Venture Partner at Samos Investments, is building a product around that problem after seeing it play out in her first workshop, where most participants realised they were underpricing themselves once they broke everything down. What started as a single session is already turning into a product with early users, as she builds it in real time and tests how a portfolio career can actually be structured instead of just managed informally.Find out more about the Portfolio Method and get a free audit here: https://theportfolio-method.com/. Most people running multiple roles have no clear way to price their work or decide what is actually worth their time.June Angelides MBE, Founder of the Portfolio Method and Venture Partner at Samos Investments, is building a product around that problem after seeing it play out in her first workshop, where most participants realised they were underpricing themselves once they broke everything down. What started as a single session is already turning into a product with early users, as she builds it in real time and tests how a portfolio career can actually be structured instead of just managed informally.Find out more about the Portfolio Method and get a free audit here: https://theportfolio-method.com/. An anonymous benchmarking survey for portfolio careers is also now live, check it out here: https://tally.so/r/eqxrQq.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:25 - Why she started the Portfolio Method2:36 - The cost of context switching3:27 - Underpricing and workshop insight4:02 - Going back into build mode6:24 - Product vision and early users11:38 - Investing in African startups13:13 - African tech ecosystem15:01 - Balancing a portfolio career
Transcribe →Andre Retterath, General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital: Earlybird’s €360m fund and the future of European deep tech
May 400:23:12Tap to summarizeEarlybird raised a €360 million early-stage fund, its largest yet, after extending the hard cap during the raise to bring in an additional institutional LP.Andre Retterath, General Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, talks about how that number is decided before the fund is even raised, with ownership targets and follow-on reserves shaping the size more than anything else in a market where liquidity has been tight.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeuropeTimestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:19 - €360m fund announcement0:55 - Fund size and portfolio strategy2:29 - Fundraising in today’s LP market3:54 - IPOs and liquidity returning5:39 - Deep tech focus8:13 - What founders look for in investors10:03 - Aleph Alpha and Cohere12:24 - Sovereignty in Europe15:39 - Ownership structure and long-term setup20:14 - Advice for getting into VC
Transcribe →Stefan Bader: CEO on Cello on automating growth and GTM
Apr 3000:21:39Tap to summarizeStefan Bader is a the co-founder and CEO of Cello, a tech company focused on user-led growth through referral-based marketing for B2B software companies. He is also running the GTM10 awards - an awards programme for the best GTM operators. Check it out here: https://thegtm10.com/The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:]https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkAlso by:Mishcon: https://www.mishcon.com/pop-ups/scaling-europeChargebee: https://www.chargebee.com/events/beelieve/london/2026SurrealDB: https://surrealdb.com/Airwallex: https://www.airwallex.com/uk?utm_source=other&utm_medium=partner_referral&utm_campaign=v01_emea_multi_ib_dg_prtmk_mofu_scalingeurope
Transcribe →Dan Westgarth, Chief Operating Officer at Deel: From Revolut to Deel: inside two hypergrowth companies
Apr 2100:17:51Tap to summarizeDeel has grown into one of the fastest scaling SaaS companies globally, building a fully remote organisation of over 7,000 people and reaching more than $1 billion in annual revenue.Dan Westgarth, COO at Deel, shares how he went from customer support at Revolut to leading operations at Deel, and why scaling a company at that speed comes down to constant reinvention, high talent density and a culture built on accountability rather than location.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:37 - From Revolut to Deel2:37 - Why join early and back founders4:20 - Deel’s growth and scale today5:30 - Reinventing the COO role as the company grows6:39 - What the role looks like day-to-day7:30 - Hiring, culture and what makes a great operator10:10 - Scaling a fully remote company12:33 - Remote culture and accountability12:38 - Views on the current market and AI14:47 - The Revolut mafia and operator networks15:51 - Staying at Deel and future plans16:42 - AI adoption inside Deel
Transcribe →Harvey Hodd, founder at Rivan: Rivan raised a £25 million Series A
Apr 2000:21:08Tap to summarizeRivan has just raised a £25 million Series A to scale its synthetic fuel technology, after building and operating the UK’s largest synthetic natural gas plant in under a year.Harvey Hodd, Founder at Rivan, shares how the company built and proved its first plant and is now focused on scaling manufacturing to bring synthetic fuels into the grid at costs that compete with fossil fuels.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:22 - £25m Series A announcement0:52 - From hypothesis to working plant2:11 - What Rivan is building4:38 - Customer demand and commercial model6:06 - Energy markets and European context8:54 - Competing with fossil fuels10:10 - Building fast in hardware12:45 - Scaling manufacturing and new facility14:08 - Deployment timelines16:12 - Fundraising and investors17:56 - Challenges and execution19:02 - Building hardware vs software
Transcribe →Roxanne Varza, Director at Station F: Station F became a launchpad for Europe’s top startups
Apr 1700:42:21Tap to summarizeStation F has become one of the defining institutions in French tech, housing 1,000 early-stage startups in Paris and launching F/ai, a new AI programme bringing together major labs, top funds and a sharper focus on commercial acceleration.Roxanne Varza, Director at Station F, shares how Station F grew alongside the rise of the French ecosystem and why the focus is now shifting toward helping strong AI teams move faster on the commercial side by connecting them with the right partners, investors and buyers.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:19 - Why Roxanne moved to France1:38 - What Station F is today2:24 - Station F’s impact on French tech6:02 - What FAI is and why it launched7:48 - How founders were selected10:12 - Why Deal Day matters16:05 - Why Paris is producing more major AI companies20:27 - Sovereignty and buying European tech23:13 - France’s growing defence tech ecosystem
Transcribe →Sarah Fleischer & Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, Co-founders at tozero: Building Europe’s first battery recycling plant
Apr 1600:21:24Tap to summarizetozero is building Europe’s first industrial battery recycling demonstration plant, taking lithium-ion battery recycling from research to a live facility running in the real world.Sarah Fleischer and Ksenija Milicevic Neumann, Co-founders at tozero, share how the team built and launched the plant from scratch, now processing end-of-life batteries into critical materials like lithium and graphite, and using it to prove the process continuously as they push toward scaling full industrial plants across Europe.The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjkSponsors:SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction0:32 - Launching the demo plant1:40 - From idea to building the plant3:12 - Why battery recycling now5:22 - What the plant produces6:49 - Proving the process at scale7:55 - Scaling beyond the demo plant9:44 - Pilots and customers12:21 - Market demand and supply chains13:08 - Rapid prototyping approach14:35 - Scaling to future plants18:20 - Hiring and building the team
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