00:03:51 · Sebastian Johnson, Margarethe Böhme
[00:03:51] S0: And how did the LPs react or resonate with the thesis that that that you kind of pitched them with? [00:03:56] S1: I think a lot of them... Or, like, I would say, a lot of the ones who committed at least and and many more reacted super positively because I think there are a lot of funds in Europe, and many of them more traditional in a sense. Right? So you've had either people who have been leaders in different industries who have started, investing in that vertical, or you have exited entrepreneurs who are like, okay. I'm gonna go go into investing now. For us, it was more... Our our pitch was always that, you know, we are all under 25. We know our peers. We understand what they need. They're the first, like, actual AI native generation building. They have a whole different landscape that they're working within than the ones that, you know, maybe entrepreneurs ten years back didn't have. Like, it's very globalized. You can do just about anything. So they need their first partner to understand that and be able to help them navigate it. And we, yeah, we kinda built our thesis off of that. [00:04:56] S0: Tell me about your role. You know, your managing partner, you know, 23. What what does that look like on a day to day basis?
00:04:56 · Sebastian Johnson, Margarethe Böhme
[00:04:56] S0: Tell me about your role. You know, your managing partner, you know, 23. What what does that look like on a day to day basis? [00:05:01] S1: Well, you know, like, we we have a... We're a small team. Like, four of us in the investment team, two in the marketing team. We have a very flat hierarchy. So, like, I just see my job, like, internally as being basically the person who sees to it that all of us can perform at the highest possible level. So we have super high agency team, members, who, you know, they've built companies before or exited them. Like, they really know what they wanna build with Wave, and my job is just supporting them. But I also see it as basically more of a strategic role. I think, like, we are we are, of course, very niched in a sense, but there's so, so much that we can do for our founders. And there is so, so much value that we can bring just if we work towards this strategically in a way. And in order to kind of get to that goal of being a new type of venture fund that this generation deserves, there is so, so much that we can do. [00:05:58] S0: Oh, what do you think that really looks like? What does the... You know, there's there's some interesting things about the Wave Ventures model. Specifically, there's a lot of team rotation. You're obviously all very young. What are your key beliefs about the way Venture needs to serve the next generation founders?
00:06:14 · Margarethe Böhme
[00:06:14] S1: So to start off with the rotational model, the reason we have it is that we see that, okay. Like, when I'm 30, I probably won't know the best people who are young, who are building. I might not really understand their needs. I might not be as in tune. And we just wanna make sure that, like, the people who are coming into Wave and leading it and steering it forward are super well connected to the base that they're serving. And in terms of what venture should look like, in my opinion, a lot of European firms have gotten quite comfortable. Because I think, you know, before the Americans started coming in, it was fine to have these, like, DD processes that, like, took a month or more. And you could basically just come in and say, oh, but we have, you know, we have connections to this industry. I might give you a couple of intros. But there... There's no scalability in that model itself. Like, we approach Wave as a start up. Like, this is our company that we're building, and our customers, like, the people we serve are the founders. So our services have to be top notch, like, whichever way you twist and turn them. Right? And to me, like, the biggest, biggest thing is that we we talk a lot about, like, value add per dilution. So the amount we dilute a company with, like, the Wave stake, we have to make sure that, like, the value we provide exceeds that stake. And that is... Like, if anyone ever came to me and said, like, I don't feel like you brought value to my cap table, like, that was be... That would be the biggest thing for me ever. Like, I I would change the entire way I was working. And to me, that's like, how can we actually serve our companies? Like, what do they need? You know, when starting out, you might be a fantastic technical person who's gonna build, like, a world changing product. There are so many tiny, tiny hurdles on the way. They get bigger and bigger, of course. But, like, has nobody actually built, like, AI native systems for their their portfolio? Why has nobody ever thought about, like, how can we actually scalably get them to access our networks? How can we do all these different things? So we've been, yeah, tinkering a bit with those those types of things. More to come.
00:08:28 · Sebastian Johnson, Margarethe Böhme
[00:08:28] S0: And and you mean it. You... Because you've got this rotation, but it's all about keeping the firm young and close to founders. What does your career look like at Wave? Is this sort of like a tour of duty for this specific fund? Do you come on board for a specific amount of time? What does that look like? [00:08:42] S1: Exactly. So, usually, you would stay with Wave for two years. So, like, all of us are entirely full time. This is... Everything that we're doing is Wave and and founder sales. I kind of... You you... Of course, you can view it in, like, a short term perspective that, like, you serve this fund and these founders, and then you're out. For me, it's very different. Like, I kind of view mine and the team's role as building, like, the foundation for Wave and Founder's House and everything around it to become institutions. And, I think there's so, so much that we can do, so many things that we can question. Like, there are norms of how things are done and venture that we can question because we're young, and we can, like, reimagine them. And I think it's more about that, that, like, every single person that comes in that has, like, a background as a builder, as a counter, they can come in and question, like, why is something done like this? So I think it's really good to have these new perspectives come into the team.
00:08:42 · Margarethe Böhme, Sebastian Johnson
[00:08:42] S1: Exactly. So, usually, you would stay with Wave for two years. So, like, all of us are entirely full time. This is... Everything that we're doing is Wave and and founder sales. I kind of... You you... Of course, you can view it in, like, a short term perspective that, like, you serve this fund and these founders, and then you're out. For me, it's very different. Like, I kind of view mine and the team's role as building, like, the foundation for Wave and Founder's House and everything around it to become institutions. And, I think there's so, so much that we can do, so many things that we can question. Like, there are norms of how things are done and venture that we can question because we're young, and we can, like, reimagine them. And I think it's more about that, that, like, every single person that comes in that has, like, a background as a builder, as a counter, they can come in and question, like, why is something done like this? So I think it's really good to have these new perspectives come into the team. [00:09:41] S0: And what... You know, because you're you're sort of closer to founders in many ways, I'm curious to, like, what what do you see as your unique advantages? So you talk about some of the the bigger firms in Europe getting a bit comfortable, maybe a bit slow. You know, where do you see your advantage in kind of seeing the best deals in the new Nordics?
00:09:41 · Sebastian Johnson, Margarethe Böhme
[00:09:41] S0: And what... You know, because you're you're sort of closer to founders in many ways, I'm curious to, like, what what do you see as your unique advantages? So you talk about some of the the bigger firms in Europe getting a bit comfortable, maybe a bit slow. You know, where do you see your advantage in kind of seeing the best deals in the new Nordics? [00:10:01] S1: I would say that, like, the advantage of being young is that you have to prove yourself. End of day. I might be like... Many might see it as okay. Maybe that's not an advantage. It's the opposite. For me, it is. Because we... Basically, just as I mentioned before, we approach Wave. This is our company. This is our start up. So anytime a founder wants something, we take that as input to our product. Like, what do we have to do better? What kind of connections can we get them? What can we hustle for them? Like, that's the kind of mindset that we always have. And I think that's, like... I think that's a pro. Like, even though we might not always have, you know, the most senior networks out there, we will work to build them for our companies. And I think that many investors that might have been in the game for a bit longer, especially the more comfortable ones, mid sized funds, they don't really... They haven't had the reason to do so because they might be super well connected in a certain area. But for us, it's like we are in it. We're going to prove ourselves. We're going to prove our place on this cap table. Because, of course, when you're young, you get questioned more often.