<p>Ali Mitchell has backed more than half a dozen unicorns — but his story starts with failure.</p><p>Before co-founding Huddle and later leading EQT Ventures, one of Europe’s most successful VC funds, Ali was a founder who learned firsthand how hard it is to build and scale. In this episode, we unpack what those early failures taught him about resilience, product-market fit, and what separates great founders from good ones.</p><p>We also dive into:</p><ul><li><p>Why Europe still struggles to produce $10B startups</p></li><li><p>What the best founders get <em>right</em> about distribution and go-to-market</p></li><li><p>How to raise VC capital the right way (and what most get wrong)</p></li><li><p>Why Ali still believes in <em>founder intuition</em> — even in the age of AI</p></li></ul><p>A conversation about hard lessons, second acts, and the patterns behind six unicorns.</p><p>🎙️ <em>Heresy</em> is a podcast about people who defy conventional wisdom — founders, investors, and thinkers reshaping how technology gets built and scaled.</p><p><br></p><p>👇 Timestamps &amp; Resources below 👇<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E">00:00</a> – Trailer<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=61s">01:01</a> – Ali’s Early Journey and Entrepreneurial Roots<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=332s">05:32</a> – Building and Scaling Huddle<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=867s">14:27</a> – Go-to-Market Lessons and Missteps<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=1338s">22:18</a> – Why Europe Struggles with Commercialization<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=1676s">27:56</a> – From Founder to Investor: Lessons from EQT Ventures<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=2174s">36:14</a> – The Cultural Contrast: US vs. Europe<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=2620s">43:40</a> – What the US Gets Right: Selling, Storytelling, and Scale<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=2934s">48:54</a> – The Tuck Shop Story: Teaching Entrepreneurship Early<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3006s">50:06</a> – Returning to Europe: Family, Values, and Purpose<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3116s">51:56</a> – From EQT to Odyssey: A New Mission for European Tech<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3291s">54:51</a> – Flow and the New Era of Engineering Automation<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3360s">56:00</a> – Odyssey’s Investment Focus: AI + Automation in the Real World<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3450s">57:30</a> – Lessons for Founders: Ambition, Focus, and Resilience<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3581s">59:41</a> – What Most People Get Wrong About Venture Capital<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3751s">01:02:31</a> – Final Advice for First-Time Founders<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSGOP2gJN6E&t=3821s">01:03:41</a> – Closing Thoughts🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe for more unfiltered conversations on technology, business, and defying the status quo.Follow Ali:🔗 LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTNnRkN0SkxVR0ZOWlJxUEJmZnBGeXRYTFNwQXxBQ3Jtc0tsNDFJdHlDdVF0c3dkNkhpdWtsaGxHZHFDeEgwVldsYmJZVVB0Q1BfWU9kZW5PcEFlN21wWTR4RzFFSExLbnoyMTZNbkVZRjE4cHo1VXVrN25RRnFjR242N2hESGUzenl0UFFXRzV0OVp5dDR6VGdncw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Falimitchell%2F&v=cSGOP2gJN6E" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">  / alimitchell  </a> 💰 Odyssey Ventures: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkZVZU9MN2Vma000dndYNkc2Vm9SRkZlN3Fid3xBQ3Jtc0tubWVENzVSMkVyNVpUSGYtZUVUY0JTYTZBdkdKdkR6R1VGTHdHZmNhV1JCMGZOcTZXOFFLQWNMNDZZS0JMQVhob3Radm8zdEdsWXY3VVRCU1NOcXV5RENhLU1xdHpfZDRFakJDbGVTZW9VN0JtM1hDNA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.odyssey.ventures%2F&v=cSGOP2gJN6E" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.odyssey.ventures/</a>🎙 The Heresy Podcast – conversations with builders, thinkers &amp; rebels 🔔 Subscribe: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzpkQj6qk5OpMX-G-ljZ9gA">   / @heresypodcast  </a> 🔗 Follow Dimitar: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbUNDRlI0ZjU2eXFNQnh3d2NWNVpHMTNTYXZpQXxBQ3Jtc0trd2NXVFAtZGIyZ0NiRV9QM1pvN0plelpUQlhJQ2p5Mk1tZGs1S0FWWmFZZVRlclRVMHhzeU5oYTdjajJZSGZIajQ3S2JETzNVanhwWWJYUkxEdzRrYVM1TGxjMEpxU2gwS2hvVGJOTW4zcjVLLVM2MA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fstanimiroff%2F&v=cSGOP2gJN6E" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">  / stanimiroff  </a> </p><p>#Ali Mitchell #EQT Ventures #startups #venture capital #founders #SaaS #Europe #tech #VC #Heresy Podcast #DimitarStanimiroff #growth #failure #unicorns #scaling #productmarketfit #fundraising</p><p><br></p>