I am interested in the comments posted as well. I recently discussed the possibilities of developing such a web based database that would divide the database on the “types” of investments a VC gets involved with coupled with a way Entrepreneurs could create profile pages or pitches on their ideas.

I was pumped on working on this project but the client I was speaking with about the project kinda dropped off the radar.

If anyone would like to talk more about creating such a site please let me know it seemed like a really cool idea.

A “facebook” of VCs and entrepreneurs

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Thanks and Regards

Noel for Nopun.com
a professional graphic design studio

Good early investors: Mangrove, Eden, BigBang, Atlas, Index, Balderton (sometimes), Atomico, Profounders, EFF.

Angels: TAG / The Kleins, Seedcamp, Cambridge Angels, many individuals (Alex Hoye, Stefan Glaenzer, etc. etc.)

… not a very long list.

First money = toughest money.

In Europe you will find a number of natural very early stage players including Eden Ventures, Mangrove, Atomico. Many of the mainstream funds do seed too: Atlas (e.g. Zoopla, Seatwave), Index, Balderton. Finally the angel and angel networks such as TAG / The Kleins, Cambridge Angels, Seedcamp etc.

Varying degrees of quality across the board (I consider all of the above to be strong).

I founded a start-up last year and have been meeting several VCs in the last two months, most of them in Belgium (where I’m located).

I think that there are huge cultural differences from one country to the other, VCs tend to follow the same frame of mind as local businessmen do. Belgian people are generally risk averse and so are the VCs; they only rarely invest in early stage companies. They also have “limited” budgets and so have to chose carefully which projects to invest in.

On the other hand, I had a few exchanges with VCs from the UK and the USA and it seems that proximity becomes an important criterion.

Though many VCs say they invest worldwide, when dealing with younger companies, they tend to keep them as close as possible.

I suppose many of them had bad experiences in the past, as only very few start-ups actually deliver.

Any idea where I could get a list of EU investors looking for high potential but early projects?

Maybe it’s that entrepreneurs (me) and VCs (you) are not that different.

The really successful entrepreneurs have some kind of drive and make-up that’s not attached to the money. Not that we eschew the money – far from it.

But at the end of the day you’re in it for something else. Or just because you can’t help it.