E540 | EUVC Summit 2025 | Hall of Fame: Honoring Robin Klein

0:28Some stories aren't told in headlines. to reality. Tonight, we don't just look back. We celebrate the foundation that future generations will build on. Legacy. It is my enormous pleasure to do the Hall of Fame Awards. This is probably the pinnacle of the awards because it means so much to the judges. It means so much to us and clearly to the winner. What are we looking for? We're looking for someone that has been in the industry for 20 plus years, has been at the top of the industry, has been associated with some of the major successes that makes the European venture so exciting, has been an ecosystem player, has shown the way not only to founders but to other VCs and also has been a wonderful person to look up to.

1:26Now to talk about the award a bit more, I invite Stephen Lowry from HSBC.

1:36Great, thanks Chris. So at HSBC Innovation Banking, we are proud to support both the legends who are developing the venture landscape in Europe and also those who follow them. So our mission is to empower the fans and the founders with the resources to scale, broaden their businesses across sectors, and support them for the full life of their journey. So supporting the Hall of Fame Award is one of our ways of honoring an individual who's made an incredible contribution over their whole career. Chris. And now, are you ready? I was looking at the BAFTAs the other day and realized I was going to do a poor job of that.

2:17But the Hall of Fame for 2024 is Robin Klein.

2:33Now, Robin, we all know Local Globe, but do we know Phoenix Court? Yes, you all do. the amazing array of funds and activities they do, including backing incredible young VC entrepreneurs all the way up to the solar fund that is doing private to public. It is remarkable. I want to say one other thing before doing a photograph and then letting the real person speak. I first heard Robin Klein's name and probably the very first entrepreneur, first cohort, and an entrepreneur saying, I've just met this magical person. He told me what not to do, what to do. He told me that I have a chance. I have an ability to build something amazing.

3:32And I think that embodies everything about Robin. How do I follow that introduction? So this is a big surprise to me. So I quickly put together a 10-minute talk, which is up on the screen. And I'll deliver it now. So 50 years ago, I arrived in London never having heard of venture capital. I'm not even sure that the term existed. Today, I want to talk about the one thing that I think It defines my journey, the one that I've been on, and defines all of yours. And that is the immense opportunity that lies in front of us. Oliver spelled it out with numbers. Not the opportunity that we chase, but the opportunities that we create.

4:25Today, there are 3 ,800 active VCs in EMEA. So we've really grown up as an industry. Now, like all good stories, let's start at the beginning. Actually, before the beginning. A century ago, my grandfather left Eastern Europe for Johannesburg, South Africa. You can hear I still have the accent. A year later, his wife and young son followed. and decades later he gave his life savings, which at that time was about£3 ,000, to his grandson, a newly qualified engineer, to start a business. So that belief in the future was venture capital before we even had the term. So fast forward to 1976. We arrived in London and I spent 25 years building and exiting two companies.

5:26In 1999, having sold my last business, I started active angel investing. And I learned about the power law quite quickly. I made eight investments. And within 18 months, seven of them had failed. That one success may be the reason that I'm still here and still involved. So I've got to thank Martha Lane Fox, Brent Hoberman, because that one lucky survivor was lastminute.com. It floated on the 14th of March, 2000, just days before the dot-com crash. Most of you are too young to remember it. But it stays with us, and anyone who lived through it still has the scars and learned about the power law in a most powerful way.

6:26So I think that when we look back, most of us who've been in VC for a while and built any kind of reputation would admit that they owe it to a handful of founders. It's not what we've done, but what those founders have done. and also a little bit of luck. And I think the last minute experience was very much about that. So over the last 50 years, what I've seen in the UK is an extraordinary cultural shift. A new generation of entrepreneurs building bold, ambitious businesses. Now, I could stand here and throw a raft of statistics at you demonstrating the enormous growth of the European ecosystem.

7:19I could tell you about how governments and capital markets might just be waking up to the opportunities. But you can read all about that in the FT and most days in our trade publications. Instead, what I'd like to do is to tell you something about the unique Phoenix Court approach to venture capital. If you've not been to our home at Phoenix Court in Summerstown, This is an open invitation to all of you. Come and visit us sometime. We're situated in one of the most deprived areas of London, and our mission is to be a good neighbour and to help people maximise their potential. Our foundation, called Phoenix Court Works, gets 10 % of our profits, which these days we do make.

8:11In the early days, we were like any other start-up, made no profits. But 10 % of our profits and 2 % of our carry goes into Phoenix Court Works, and it actively supports over 40 charitable organizations within the area. And we work closely with Camden Council, who's our landlord and with whom we have a 20-year lease. Phoenix Court is open in every way. You are as likely to bump into a group of school kids, entrepreneurs, or policymakers from local or national government in the building. And on average, we are hosting two to three events every week. So core to our belief, and I know to all viewers, is the understanding that innovation and technology is a force for good and capable of providing stellar returns to LPs at the same time.

9:06Today, across our funds, Local, Globe, Latitude and Solar, we are managing just short of$2 billion. Our LPs are global, from east and from west, and are helping founders to build unicorns and thoroughbreds, whilst also supporting food banks and promoting digital inclusion. So the good news is that we're in a moment of real potential. We have the people, the ideas, the capital. My son Saul, who's here today as well, and my co-founder at Phoenix Court Group and Local Globe, he likes to say it took us 25 years to get to the starting line. But now, now it gets really interesting. So Europe stands on the brink of breakthroughs in science, tech, and entrepreneurship.

9:59Europe has world leading capabilities in the future facing domains. And there's a lot of dry powder in this room. And high growth demands high ambition and real appetite for risk. And let's finally retire that tired idea that Europe invests, invents, sorry, and US commercializes. That myth belongs in the dustbin of history. New Palo Alto, as we call it, is already the second most productive innovation cluster in the world. We're beyond talking about mythical creatures like unicorns, of which we've collectively produced about 150. But now we count thoroughbreds, that is companies whose revenues exceed$100 million per annum.

10:52And Europe has more than 500 of them. Just think about that. 500 companies doing more than$100 million. This is a real, real industry. We're not mimicking Silicon Valley. We're building something new, grounded in European values, as Oliver said, and ever more closely connected and part of society. Investors in Asia are increasingly seeing New Palo Alto as the next great innovation hub, stable, creative, and full of talent. We have the scientists, the engineers, the universities, the ideas, the role models, and we have the moment. The time is now. Einstein said, in the middle of difficulties lies opportunities.

11:44Those seven companies that I backed in 1999 had failed. Many of those founders went on to build even greater things. So to my final thank yous to my grandfather, of course, for seeing the opportunity in a better future and backing it. That's what we all do in this room. And to my son and partner, Saul, without whose vision and drive, our ecosystem and our communities would be much the poorer. And finally to EUVC, thank you for all you do for European technology and entrepreneurship. Thanks to all these foundations, the best is still ahead of us. So thank you very much. Before you go, I just want to give a massive shout out to the partners who made the EUVC Summit and Awards possible.

12:40So please do not tune out. We're partnering with these firms because they're great people. with offerings that we know from our friends in the ecosystem are truly world-class. First up, I want to give a big thanks to HSBC Innovation Banking. They helped us incept the awards in the very beginning, and truly they are the leading bank for anyone in European venture. There's a reason why everyone knows them. Google Cloud, they were our venue, hosted the summit. What a team, what a big effort they put on to help us. We're hugely grateful. Make sure to reach out to Arabella or Oksana at the Google Cloud team.

13:14to hear how they can help you as well as your portfolio. Massive credits goes to them. Ace Alternatives, we have so many friends in the Berlin ecosystem partnered with these guys. Just the best fund ops team around. And as with any good restaurant, where the locals are is also where you get the best service. And now they're expanding across Europe, so they're definitely someone to talk to. Hainspoon, they're longtime partners of ours in both our own legal work. They're great supporters of us here at EUVC, and I definitely think that they are one of the go-to legal teams to have in your corner.

13:47CW Communications, our dear friends who helped us secure CNBC, Bloomberg, Financial Times, and many more for this summer. It's a joy working with Dan and Kathy and the team. Fundcraft, Digital Native, Full Suite, Lux Headquarter, and a great partner as you grow your firm out of Luxembourg. Definitely a fund admin to consider in your stack. I can only say that the team are incredible to work with. I'm very thankful that I've gotten to know them. I think they're one of the up and coming fund admins that you want to be thinking about. Portfolio IQ by Synaptic. You may know them for the Discover tool, which is branded on a Synaptic, but Portfolio IQ is absolutely a product you should know because there's no one that understands intelligence better than this team.

14:32And finally, Goodwin. They are a truly world-class legal partner you can trust. They're hands-on, business-oriented, an expert in everything and anything transatlantic. So those were our partners for the summit and awards. I know this might have been a bit long and boring, but really, if you have these guys on your side, I don't think your firm could be in any better hands. And also they're helping us do what we're doing every day for you.