YZ Yuanzhe Fu + YY Yuyan Wang, founders of YUVC are thrilled to be joined by Christian Dorffer, Founder at Defiance Capital, seed investor in B2B SaaS and AI in Europe and the US.
Christian was previously the CEO of Sweet Capital, having backed 100+ early-stage deals. His publication Unicorn Founder DNA on 1000+ unicorns was cited by TechCrunch. He was also a founder backed by Index Ventures among others. Now, Christian is starting his new fund!
Highlights:
YZ: What sets a successful seed fund apart?
Christian: What sets a successful seed fund apart is that they can get into difficult deals.
How do you evaluate founders who don't fit the traditional criteria?
Christian: By conducting in-depth interviews with non-obvious unicorn founders and using AI to analyze the data, we are able to identify specific factors and questions that help predict the success of an immigrant founder without a network in the US.
YY: What's a perfect founder profile for you now?
Christian: Founders who have experience building and are very cognizant of the mistakes they made in the past. They should have a new idea for a market where they can compete effectively. Hunger, technical capability, and experience are also important factors. Additionally, having a team and experience working together in the past is preferred, as it makes coordination and decision-making easier.
Chapters:
00:00 🤝 Backing Right Founders
04:04 🎓 PhD to VC Journey
07:53 🌟 Immigrant Unicorns
10:37 🔍 Non-Traditional Founders
14:14 🤔 Non-Obvious Entrepreneurs
18:01 💼 Challenges of Unicorns
21:26 🧐 Mentors & Founder Profiles
25:41 💼 Experience in Founder Selection
28:52 🚀 Talent & Innovations
32:44 📊 Sales & Seed Fund Value
36:18 🔄 Support for Serial Founders
40:17 🛠️ Skills & Startups
43:28 💡 Flexibility in Investing
48:12 🌱 Life's Curiosity & Progress
51:51 🌐 Chinese Founders & Medicine
56:37 📚 VC Podcasting Bridges
Links:
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