This Monday, the BVA organised another edition of the VC Roundtable!
🏗 This time, it was held at Tomorrowland's brand new innovation campus, the "Lab of Tomorrow," bringing together the best tech companies in the event industry.
🙏 A warm welcome was given by the Lab's manager, Hanne D., who gave us a sneak peek of the future plans for the region.
📈 Bjorn Tremmerie from the European Investment Fund (EIF) provided valuable insights into the performance of European VC funds. As an LP in more than 1,500 PE & VC funds, with over €39 billion committed, their data shows that most European VCs deliver superior and competitive returns.
🥇 The top quartile of EU VCs has actually outperformed their US counterparts over the last 18 years (Source: PitchBook).
🦄 Unicorns are clearly great founder factories. Ex-founders and ex-employees of these companies start new (successful) companies, which creates a "snowballing" effect. One example in Belgium is with the original Netlog founders: 🙏 Lorenz Bogaert, Boris Bogaert, Nicolas Van Eenaeme, and Toon Coppens.
🔥 Currently, Belgium ranks 9th among VC funding destinations in Europe for 2024. 1st place = UK ($11.5B), 2nd place = Germany ($5.6B), 3rd place = France ($5.6B).
🌤 We are seeing signs of market stabilization and a recovery after the market correction in 2022. The investment landscape is stabilizing and returning to "normal." Startups are recruiting again, with a significant rise in job postings. A lot of money is flowing into GenAI, climate, deep tech, and health sectors.
💡 Joe Schorge from Isomer Capital gave an insightful session on creating liquidity for LPs through secondaries. They have over 77 VC fund investments as an LP, 44 direct co-investments, and secondaries in companies, as well as 33 unicorns in their portfolio.
🎓 European VC has created many great companies but not enough liquidity for their investors, often being illiquid for more than 12 years. Secondary funds can play an important role in providing liquidity for LPs, founders, and VC firms.
A big thank you to Tom Sas from Boker Tov, for providing the delicious catering!
❤️ Thanks to the following funds for participating and contributing to the lively discussions:
6 Degrees Capital
Akiles
Angelwise
BeAngels
Birdhouse Ventures
Capricorn Partners
Droia Ventures
imec.istart future fund
Aconterra
TCD Capital (ex TheClubDeal)
Smartfin
Fortino Capital
Pitchdrive | Early-stage VC 🚀
HERAN Partners
Volta Ventures
ScaleFund
KBC Focus Fund
Seeder Fund
Qbic Fund | Venture Capital
LRM NV
Ninepointfive
European Investment Fund (EIF)
Isomer Capital
BVA | Belgian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association