Naimul Abd

This week, I had the pleasure of attending the LP Forum at TechBBQ in Copenhagen. A truly insightful event with many thought-provoking discussions around institutional capital and venture. One topic that stood out to me: how pension funds are (slowly) approaching the venture capital asset class. While the structures for access, such as funds and fund-of-funds are well-established, many pension funds still seem hesitant to engage more actively. A particularly striking slide showed the most active pension funds in European VC. Surprisingly (and a bit shockingly), not a single German pension fund made the list. The potential here is massive. 🇩🇪 Europe is a wunderland and sooner or later, pension funds will realize this too. Wunderland Capital

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🔥 Europe’s startup scene just got a big reality check — and the results are impossible to ignore. At Nordic Tech Week, Norrsken VC dropped the largest impact pulse report to date, built on insights from 660 founders & investors. The verdict? ➡️ Impact-optimism is on the rise. Highlights that stood out: 🚀 60% of founders + investors say the future looks bright 📈 this optimism has increased in 2025. 💶 3 out of 4 investors are doubling down on impact bets ⚡️ Energy. Industrials. Healthcare. → The sectors to watch But let’s be real: Europe’s still holding itself back. The potential is massive — if we dare to unlock it. Reach out to us at Norrsken Evolve if you are a pre-seed founder building in resilience and sustainability. 👉 Full report in comments. Props to the team for putting this together: Per Frykebrant, David Frykman, Tove Larsson, Beata Enwall, Agate S. Freimane, Ludvig Bergstrom

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Here’s a harsh truth: fundraising today is slow, costly, and unfairly tilted towards the well-connected. You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all seen it again and again.   Europe has brilliant founders with bold ideas, yet too many fail before they even get a fair chance. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not because they lack vision, but because the fundraising system is outdated. CORE changes that. Because founders get a digital co-pilot that levels the playing field: AI guidance, investor-ready decks, early visibility, and rounds live in under 72 hours.  For the cost of a dinner, every founder now has access to the tools, structure, and visibility once reserved for a few. The real cost isn’t trying, it’s waiting. This isn’t about building another tool. It’s about building Europe’s private market infrastructure, where preparation, raising, and managing capital become accessible to all. 👉 This is how we level the field: https://lnkd.in/dsYhQqnp

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🚗 EXCITING NEWS - I'm happy to share that our portfolio company Deftpower has raised €12.5 million from Endeit Capital, including continued support from us, 4impact capital, and other existing investors including Proeza Ventures, Rethink Ventures and Twickelborg to expand its AI-powered EV charging platform across Europe. We’re very excited to continue this journey with the Deftpower team. They have shown tremendous growth since our investment at the end of 2023 and we are inspired by the vision, innovation, dedication and execution skills of Jacob van Zonneveld, Marc Diks, Remco Tjeerdsma and Nicholas Laane and their team.  Deftpower is making EV charging cheaper, cleaner, and smarter. Their technology helps • Lower charging costs for EV drivers • Reduced CO2 emissions by shifting demand away from peak hours • Relieve pressure on the grid Their solution is at the core of what we invest in at 4impact capital; digital technology that contributes positively to planet and people and we look forward to what’s next. Welcome Endeit Capital, Sara Resvik, Jan Fredriks. Look forward to working with you. Rodolfo Elias Dieck, CFA, Sophie Millenaar, Ali Najafbagy, Victor Straatman, Daniel Uusitalo 🔗 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g8Xk5xpq

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We kick off each Forum Ventures cohort with a State of the Market session with investors. The fundamentals don’t change much, but the "aha" moments always do. This time, it was the importance of having “Did you know…” moments early on. As Mirit Lugassi from Laconia Capital and Michelle Jetton from Citi Ventures put it, the founders who stand out are the ones who can hook us with a surprising fact that reframes the opportunity. It’s not about a TAM slide, it’s about insight. A great “Did you know” might sound like: 👉 “Did you know over 500 million prescriptions go unfilled each year in the U.S.—a $300B problem in preventable costs?” That kind of line does three things at once: - Hooks attention with a surprising fact. - Frames urgency around the problem you’re solving. - Positions you as the expert in the room. Investors don’t remember every ARR chart. They remember the founder who taught them something new.

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If you cannot out-raise your competitor, you will have to out-execute them. Many founders around pre-seed have adopted the somewhat strange perspective that success in building a business is measured in how much money it raises. In a simple world, it is the other way around - you build successfully with momentum, which allows you to raise (if you want to), which allows you to grow even faster. On that path, being more resource-constrained will often lead to smarter capital allocation decisions. It makes you build more capital efficiently. Money helps to grow - but it certainly does not measure success. Particularly not today. Companies that are more capital-constrained can win very well, through building AI first, ruthlessly focusing on execution and building differentiated tech with very real customer value. It takes blood, sweat and tears to build successfully - and the path is rocky. Thank you for the great and open conversation around this and some other themes we are seeing emerge, Trevor! https://lnkd.in/deSrgcJm

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