Nothing Ventured

One of the biggest mistakes in investing isn’t bad judgment — it’s outdated thinking. Early on, many didn’t understand platform businesses. They underestimated how fast they scale, how powerful networks become, and how value compounds. From passing on Facebook… to becoming Uber’s biggest investor. The lesson? Before you invest in the future, you have to unlearn the past. Don’t underestimate platform business models — they change everything. Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction & episode overview 02:27 – How Super Angels thinks about quality control 03:48 – Why great early-stage decisions still fail 05:06 – Escaping your own investment “bubble” 06:22 – Power laws, probability & why volume matters in VC 09:22 – Handling competing deals & replacing angels 11:12 – Why there are fewer than 100 real super angels in Germany 15:37 – How tax incentives distort investment decisions 19:37 – What “top 10%” really means for Fund II 22:25 – Why doubling down on winners beats diversification dogma 25:31 – Timing follow-on investments & conviction building 30:21 – Europe’s real bottleneck isn’t regulation — it’s culture 33:15 – Why Europe loses its best companies to the US 35:42 – Risk aversion, civil servants & economic stagnation 45:49 – Contrarian opinion: why “more is more” 49:54 – What moves Florian emotionally 53:24 – Where to find Florian & Super Angels Find Florian Gottschaller online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-gottschaller/ Twitter: https://x.com/MetroF Superangels: https://super-angels.eu This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

What does it really mean to live in the future as an investor? In this episode, we go inside SoftBank, the Vision Fund, and the mind of Masayoshi Son with someone who was there for the biggest bets — the wins, the losses, and the lessons. We unpack: - Why SoftBank’s biggest mistakes weren’t wrong — just too early - How AI is reshaping venture capital, infrastructure, and distribution - Why timing matters more than brilliance in tech investing - The difference between narratives vs numbers in early-stage bets - Why most AI value may flow to hyperscalers — not startups - The illusion of control in careers, capital allocation, and life This is not hype. This is a grounded, insider conversation about AI, capital, ambition, hubris, and serendipity. 🎙️ If you care about venture capital, AI, or how massive bets actually get made — this one’s for you. Timestamps: 00:00 Inside SoftBank 02:30 Genius or Hubris? 05:00 The Vision Fund Explained 07:30 WeWork & Too Much Capital 10:00 AI & Capital Concentration 13:30 Narrative vs Numbers 17:00 Who Really Wins AI? 21:00 Is AI Truly Transformational? 26:00 The Illusion of Control 30:00 Why Passion Is Bad Advice 34:30 Creativity vs AI 39:00 Final Lessons Find [guest name] online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aloksama/ Twitter: https://x.com/alok_sama The Money Trap: https://aloksama.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

2025 wasn’t a recovery year, it was a reckoning. Venture capital didn’t bounce back. It split clean in two. In this year-end episode of Nothing Ventured, Aarish breaks down The Great Bifurcation — the moment the market decided who matters and who doesn’t. From the collapse of AI wrappers like Builder.ai, to $30B valuations with no product. From biology quietly raising billions in London, to defence, energy, and sovereign infrastructure becoming the only safe harbours. From Europe’s talent paradox to why a SpaceX IPO could restart the entire venture flywheel. This episode covers: - Why 2025 killed the “fake it till you make it” era - The AI split: gods vs mortals - The biology boom nobody is talking about - Defence, energy, and the rise of the sovereignty stack - Europe’s capital problem (and why exits keep moving to the US) - Why SpaceX’s IPO may unlock liquidity for everyone in 2026 2025 ended easy money. 2026 will reward important money. 🎙️ If you’re a founder, investor, operator, or LP — this is the map of where venture actually is now. #venturecapital #startups #ai #biotech #defencetech #europe #tech2025 #nothingventured This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

In this deep-dive season closer, Aarish sits down with Emmet King to unpack the real state of AI, venture, and the hidden strengths of the Nordic ecosystem. They explore why Scandinavia punches far above its weight, where the AI bubble will burst first, why distribution beats innovation, and what it actually takes for an application-layer AI startup to survive 2026. From trust, data moats and workflow depth, to manufacturing intelligence, robotics, and the limits of context—this conversation goes way beyond the hype. Emmett also reveals his most contrarian belief as a tech investor, and what genuinely moves him in life. Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro & Why the Nordics Punch Above Their Weight 08:00 – Europe’s Culture Shift: Ambition, Failure & Jante 14:00 – The AI Bubble & Where the Reset Starts 19:40 – What AI Apps Must Have to Survive 2026 27:00 – Hardware, Sensors & Industrial AI’s Next Frontier 44:45 – What Dies, What Consolidates & What Wins in AI 53:00 – Emmett’s Contrarian Take & What Moves Him Emotionally Find Emmet King online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmetking/ Twitter: https://x.com/J12Ventures J12 Ventures: https://www.j12ventures.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe

In this deep, funny, and at times shocking conversation, Jess Butcher MBE — co-founder of Blippar and the creator of Scroll Aware — breaks down how the attention economy became an addiction economy, how AR missed its moment, why our kids are becoming NPCs, and what the analogue renaissance could look like. We explore: Timestamps: 00:00 — AR’s rise & missed moment 03:00 — Why AR never hit education 06:46 — Attention → addiction economy 11:30 — Algorithmic media & truth decay 15:50 — Overwhelm, ADHD & digital habits 18:49 — Kids, screens & NPC culture 22:03 — Phones out of schools 27:07 — The “safe phone” movement 30:32 — Big Tech vs Big Tobacco 46:37 — The analogue renaissance begins Find Jess Butcher online at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessbutcher/ Twitter: https://x.com/jessbutcher scrollaware: https://www.scrollaware.com/ This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe