Podcast · 15 episodes
Venture Lab with Luis
by Luis Druschke · English
The greatest opportunities are often hidden behind closed doors. This podcast opens them up. After seven years in a different industry, last year I developed a strange obsession with startups and venture capital. I consumed every podcast, video, and book I could find. And while entrepreneurship does not need another podcast, it desperately needs transparency, accessibility, and conversations that go beyond funding rounds and exits. Venture Lab tells the personal stories of Europe's most exceptional investors and most innovative founders.
Latest episodes
Inside Wonder Studio: Building the Y Combinator of HollywoodIn this episode, host Luis engages in a conversation with Xavier, the co-founder of Wonder Studios.23 Mar 2026 · 44 min
From Poetry to Deep Tech: How Europe Builds the Next Tesla I Will Wells, SpeedinvestWill Wells, Partner at Speedinvest5 Mar 2026 · 29 min
How General Catalyst’s $43B Venture Strategy Actually Works I Zeynep YavuzIn this episode, Zeynep Yavuz shares insights drawn from her unique career path, which led her to become a partner at General Catalyst (GC), one of the world's leading venture capital firms managing…19 Feb 2026 · 33 min
All episodes
Inside Wonder Studio: Building the Y Combinator of HollywoodIn this episode, host Luis engages in a conversation with Xavier, the co-founder of Wonder Studios.23 Mar 2026 · 44 min · 17 chapters
From Poetry to Deep Tech: How Europe Builds the Next Tesla I Will Wells, SpeedinvestWill Wells, Partner at Speedinvest5 Mar 2026 · 29 min · 17 chapters
How General Catalyst’s $43B Venture Strategy Actually Works I Zeynep YavuzIn this episode, Zeynep Yavuz shares insights drawn from her unique career path, which led her to become a partner at General Catalyst (GC), one of the world's leading venture capital firms managing…19 Feb 2026 · 33 min · 14 chapters
How I built a Venture Fund from Scratch at 27 I Bastian Larsen I E13In this episode, Bastian Larsen shares his journey from co-leading a product strategy team at BlackRock, a major hedge fund, to founding his own venture capital firm, Blackwood.22 Jan 2026 · 43 min · 19 chapters
Building Yonder: The 10-Year Founder Journey Nobody Talks About I Tim Chong, YonderIn this episode, Tim Chong, the founder and CEO of Yonder, shares his journey of transforming from a small apartment during the COVID lockdown to leading one of Europe's fastest-growing consumer…11 Dec 2025 · 41 min
From Opera Singing to Billion-Dollar VC: How European Startups Will Win I Filip Dames, Cherry VenturesIn this episode, Filip Dames, co-founder of Zalando and Managing Partner at Cherry Ventures, shares his unique journey from aspiring opera singer to a successful venture capitalist.15 Oct 2025 · 44 min
How We Got Sequoia to Invest in Pre-Seed Before We Had a Product I Mohamed Chahin, Founder of TwainIn the episode titled "How We Got Sequoia to Invest in Pre-Seed Before We Had a Product," Mo Chahin, founder of Twain, shares his transformative journey from a university dropout to securing millions…30 Sep 2025 · 53 min
The Brutal Truth about Building a VC Fund I Christian Nagel, Co-Founder EarlybirdChristian Nagel (Earlybird co-founder) discusses the “brutal truth” of building a VC fund: VC education costs money, the need for disciplined portfolio risk separation, and how Earlybird survived the…14 Aug 2025 · 36 min · 19 chapters
Unicorn Investor: Why Venture Capital Is Broken And What Happens Next I Ondrej BartosOndrej Bartos (Credo Ventures) argues venture capital has become “too mainstream, too big, too flashy,” and should return to basics: fewer firms, more niche outlier-seeking, and founder-first…31 Jul 2025 · 40 min · 17 chapters
Why I Left Goldman And Index Ventures At 30 - Now I've Raised $1B in Venture Capital I Ophelia BrownOphelia Brown explains why she left Goldman Sachs and Index Ventures at age 30 to found Blossom Capital, how she built a concentrated Europe-focused Series A strategy, and what it takes to raise ~$1B…17 Jul 2025 · 42 min · 19 chapters
Why Most VCs Are Failing Founders: Rebuilding the Venture Model - Sam Tidswell-NorrishSam Tidswell-Norrish argues that most VCs fail founders because they lack “value creation capability,” not because they lack capital.14 Jul 2025 · 34 min · 11 chapters
What AI Can't Replace: The Skill Every Founder Needs Now! I Oliver YonchevHow founders should embrace accelerating technological change and use AI-era advantages to stand out in media and entrepreneurship, arguing that AI can’t replace human imperfection, emotion, and the…14 Jul 2025 · 41 min · 15 chapters
How I Left Facebook to Start a VC Fund with a World Cup Winner I Salomon Aiach, Origins FundHow Salomon Aiach left traditional career paths to co-found Origins Fund, a pre-seed/seed VC that pairs investing with media and celebrity network effects, and how he mentors founders to trust their…14 Jul 2025 · 35 min · 16 chapters
From Apartheid to Unicorns: Saul Klein on Venture, Purpose & InequalitySaul Klein discusses venture capital’s role in inequality and how to “open” access to capital and opportunity.14 Jul 2025 · 1 h 12 min · 28 chapters
99% Give up - Here's how you never quit. How I bootstrapped a 150M empire I Erik HubermanHow to never quit—Erik Huberman’s “hard work compounds” philosophy and the real gaps in the digital marketing industry that led to building Hawk Media (outsourced CMO/marketing), then Hawk Ventures.7 Jul 2025 · 47 min · 25 chapters