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Abhishek Lahoti: From Dropbox to Head of Platform at Highland Europe & how to navigate the US market as a Founder

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Manage episode 399673143 series 3162242
Content provided by 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and James Mitra. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and James Mitra or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

“This is not necessarily a one-way transaction. Look at fundraising like it’s dating. The VC you’re going to choose, you’ll be stuck with for quite some time, so don’t play games and be honest, the whole way through…”

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Abhishek Lahoti, Head of Platform at Highland Europe, a growth stage Venture Capital firm based in Geneva and London.

Within his role at Highland Europe, Abhishek’s focus is to build a strong network of advisors and experts to help the portfolio scale at pace.

In today’s episode, we won’t just take a deep dive into the role of Head of Platform, but also discuss Abhishek’s earlier career at Dropbox, how and why he made the move into VC and his advice for Founders navigating this current market.

Episode Chapters:

➡️ The most challenging part of being a VC [1:56]

➡️ Reflections on his years at Dropbox [5:30]

➡️ Moving into VC [8:16]

➡️ Transitioning from Operator to VC [11:17]

➡️ Advice for breaking into the world of VC [12:50]

➡️ A deep dive into the role of Head of Platform [17:45]

➡️ Highland Europe’s investment thesis & portfolio [20:04]

➡️ Treating your investors like dating [21:03]

➡️ Team culture & hiring at Highland Europe [24:21]

➡️ The US vs UK Tech markets [27:07]

➡️ Founder advice for expanding into Europe [31:36]

➡️ The biggest mistakes in fundraising pitches [32:53]

➡️ Waterfall resolutions and the power of networking [34:12]

Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Abhishek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alahoti/

➡️ Find out more about Highland Europe: https://www.highlandeurope.com/

➡️ Read the European Expansion Playbook: https://sapphireventures.com/blog/a-startups-guide-for-opening-european-operations/

Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  continue reading

245 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 399673143 series 3162242
Content provided by 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and James Mitra. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by 40 Minute Mentor, JBM, and James Mitra or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

“This is not necessarily a one-way transaction. Look at fundraising like it’s dating. The VC you’re going to choose, you’ll be stuck with for quite some time, so don’t play games and be honest, the whole way through…”

This week’s 40 Minute Mentor is the brilliant Abhishek Lahoti, Head of Platform at Highland Europe, a growth stage Venture Capital firm based in Geneva and London.

Within his role at Highland Europe, Abhishek’s focus is to build a strong network of advisors and experts to help the portfolio scale at pace.

In today’s episode, we won’t just take a deep dive into the role of Head of Platform, but also discuss Abhishek’s earlier career at Dropbox, how and why he made the move into VC and his advice for Founders navigating this current market.

Episode Chapters:

➡️ The most challenging part of being a VC [1:56]

➡️ Reflections on his years at Dropbox [5:30]

➡️ Moving into VC [8:16]

➡️ Transitioning from Operator to VC [11:17]

➡️ Advice for breaking into the world of VC [12:50]

➡️ A deep dive into the role of Head of Platform [17:45]

➡️ Highland Europe’s investment thesis & portfolio [20:04]

➡️ Treating your investors like dating [21:03]

➡️ Team culture & hiring at Highland Europe [24:21]

➡️ The US vs UK Tech markets [27:07]

➡️ Founder advice for expanding into Europe [31:36]

➡️ The biggest mistakes in fundraising pitches [32:53]

➡️ Waterfall resolutions and the power of networking [34:12]

Helpful links:

➡️ Connect with Abhishek: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alahoti/

➡️ Find out more about Highland Europe: https://www.highlandeurope.com/

➡️ Read the European Expansion Playbook: https://sapphireventures.com/blog/a-startups-guide-for-opening-european-operations/

Enjoyed this episode?⭐️

Keep up to date with all our latest episodes, by hitting the subscribe button on your favourite podcast platform. And for any feedback on what you enjoy the most and ideas on what we can do to make 40 Minute Mentor even better, please leave us a review on https://ratethispodcast.com/40mm

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  continue reading

245 episodes

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