Venture University Launches VU Europe, The European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator

VU Europe’s Mission Is To Nurture Top Investor Talent Within The European Innovation Ecosystem. Munich, Germany Will Be The Initial HQ Location For VU Europe’s Operations, With Plans To Expand Throughout Europe.

Venture University (VU) is launching VU Europe, bringing its Venture Capital Investor Accelerator to the European market, including VU’s Venture Capital Education Programs & Venture Capital Investment Apprenticeship Program, and will be headquartered in Munich, Germany.

Europe has a number of startup accelerators, however, to build a strong innovation ecosystem, there needs to be an equal counterweight to increasing the quantity and quality of investors providing “smart capital” to founders.

Enter Venture University, the world’s leading Investor Accelerator across venture capital, private equity, and angel investing. VU launched in 2018, has graduated over 750+ alumni across 42 cohorts, has made 100+ investments in startups globally (including 5+ unicorns), and has a history of European cohort members attending the program. Now VU will have a dedicated group of European cohort members each quarter attending VU’s Venture Capital Investor Accelerator programs. As part of this expansion, VU plans to add a third headquarters location in Munich, Germany, in addition to its current headquarters locations in San Francisco and Hong Kong.

Launch Date: The VU European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator program will officially kick off this Fall on Monday, Sept 30th, 2024, and will be part of Cohort 43, Venture University’s West Cohort: North America, LatAm, & Europe. Up to 25 cohort members per quarter will be selected to participate in the VU European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator program and will include individuals who are located across Europe, with VU hubs being developed initially in Berlin, Munich, London, Paris, and Amsterdam.

Application: If you’re interested in applying to Venture University’s European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator: Apply using this link.

Learn More: View Program Overview Presentation of Venture University and go to www.Venture.University.

Program Overview: VU’s European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator is an 11-week program, where individuals can join for 1–4 cohorts (3–12 months), and includes three Education Programs (VC Masterclass, Advanced VC Modules, Fireside Chats) and an Investment Apprenticeship Program, where cohort members join a top tier venture capital fund (VU Venture Partners), select a vertical focus (Consumer, Enterprise, FinTech, Frontier, Healthcare, & PropTech), source and evaluate investment opportunities, and make up to 7 investments per quarter.

During the Investment Apprenticeship program, the cohort members will source and evaluate over 5,000+ companies, present their top 1–2 opportunities at weekly Partner Meetings per vertical team, participate in weekly management and vertical team meetings sharing their updated due diligence on top opportunities, make investment recommendations, participate on the Investment Committee, and receive a profit-sharing agreement to share in the upside on their cohort’s investments.

At the end of the program the cohort graduates during a REVERSE DEMO DAY event, where the cohort presents the investments they selected, have a graduation trip, and receive three certificates for completing the Education Programs and the Investment Apprenticeship.

The European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator will have additional geographic focused content, including pitches from European startups during Startup Madness, Advanced Modules on the European VC/PE ecosystem and legal system, and Fireside Chats from key speakers within the VC/PE industry in Europe.

For individuals who are unable to attend Venture University’s 11-week Venture Capital Investor Accelerator program, individuals can also select to enroll in one or more of Venture University’s Venture Capital Education Programs (VC Masterclass: Live Session, VC Masterclass: On-Demand Video Course, Advanced VC Modules: Live Session, Advanced VC Modules: On-Demand Video Course).

Announcing New Leadership At Venture University: VU is excited to annouce two new team members, Andy Goldstein and Remy Goldstein, who will be leading at Co-Heads of VU Europe and Partners on the investment team at VU Venture Partners.

Andy is a serial entrepreneur and professional startup investor, with 40 years of experience in founding, building, financing, and accelerating companies, including a specialization in bringing European companies to a global market and bringing U.S. companies and products into Europe. He is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of A Round Capital Fund Group, two Angel Funds that invested into 50 startups, notable investments include Kranus Health, Kaia Health, Xempus, omni:us; lanes&planes, klarx, Smart Reporting.

Andy is a Co-Founder of Start2Group (formerly known as German Entrepreneurship) which has spawned over 1,000+ startups (including nine unicorns) in 15 years. Programs he co-founded include the German Accelerator, a project of the German government (BMWK); LMU Entrepreneurship Center; Social Entrepreneurship Akademie; and Start2Raise.

Andy was a Sr. Partner with Deloitte Consulting Germany for 10 years. Co-founder and Managing Director of Deloitte Digital GmbH, and co-led Deloitte Consulting’s Innovation & Ventures practice for Germany. Responsible for four acquisitions, incl. the Business Building unit of DaimlerBenz & 27 pilots, the global Venture Clienting leader.

Before joining Deloitte, Andy sold his software company, MediaGold, to Avanquest Software, a French public company, where he was the COO of Europe for 5 years and held a Board seat for 12 years. He co-founded Feingold Technologies (a digital health startup) and exited to Sharecare which IPO’d on the NASDAQ in 2022.

Andy teaches a Masters Class in Entrepreneurial Growth Management at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and at the EM Lyon Business School in France. He sits on multiple boards of venture-funded startups, including Kaia Health and Kranus Health, and is a graduate of the Wharton Business School with a dual degree in Entrepreneurial Management and International Business.

Remy is an entrepreneur and investment manager, with 10 years of experience. He is the Founder and Community Co-Director of Entreprenow, a social network he started and operates since 2021, with 1,800+ members and 20 connected communities.

As Investment Manager at A Round Capital Fund Group, Remy is responsible for managing and harvesting 50 startup investments and serves as Managing Director at Goldstein Creations, a family office that publishes IP rights to novels, documentary films & screenplays.

Remy has worked in VC (Germany), Consulting (France), E-commerce (France), Data Mining (Germany), Startup Accelerators (Germany), and Public Administration Advisory (Germany). In 2023, Remy designed and implemented the curriculum and platform for Master Accelerator, a program specialized in fundraising for startups.

Remy is a regular lecturer at the Technical University Munich’s (TUM) — Quantum Entrepreneurship Laboratory, and at the Center for Digital Technology & Management’s (CDTM) — Managing Product Development, and is a graduate of Ludwig Maximilians Universität (LMU), with a dual degree in Business Education and Business Administration. Following his Bachelor studies, Remy graduated from CDTM and holds an Honors Degree in Technology Management, from the LMU and TUM, Valedictorian.

J. Skyler Fernandes, Founder & CEO of Venture University, and Founder and General Partner of VU Venture Partners, shared, “The launch of VU Europe marks an inflection point in the evolution of Venture University and for the venture capital ecosystem in Europe. VU Europe will cultivate talent that spans across venture capital investors, angel investors, family offices, and limited partners, including individuals looking to break into the VC industry, emerging fund managers, and accelerating the careers of active investors. VU’s European Venture Capital Investor Accelerator is designed to empower and educate the next generation of investors, providing them with the tools, knowledge, and networks needed to drive innovation and economic growth across Europe. We believe that by investing in people, we can unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth, innovation, and sustainable success. Our focus on Europe is a testament to our belief in the region’s potential to lead on the global stage. VU Europe, we will build a stronger, more vibrant future for the European investor and startup ecosystem.”

Andy Goldstein, Partner — Europe, shared, “We’re excited to launch VU Europe, a monumental step forward in connecting and empowering the venture capital ecosystem across Europe. With my background of 40 years in the trenches of entrepreneurship and investment, deeply rooted in the art of cross-pollinating European companies with global markets, I’m looking forward to leveraging this experience to foster a vibrant and talented community of venture capital investors, family offices, and LPs, dedicated to propelling European startups and ecosystem to the forefront of the global stage. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to shape the future of the European venture capital landscape.”

About Venture University
Venture University (VU) is the world’s leading Investor Accelerator for venture capital, private equity, and angel investing. VU has over 750+ alumni across more than 40+ cohorts globally, with headquarters in San Francisco (USA), São Paulo (Brazil), Munich (Germany), and Hong Kong (China). The program is led by top-performing investors with over 100+ years of investment experience (over 50+ years in VC and over 50+ years in PE), having invested over $9 billion ($2+ billion in VC, $7+ billion in PE), and have been investors in more than 25+ unicorns, including Beyond Meat, Fab Fit Fun, Facebook (Meta), Figure AI, Flyr Labs, Oculus, OpenAI, Twitter (X), Tyme Group, Uber, Wayflyer, Wish, etc.

Venture University is part of the VU investment platform, which includes VU Venture Partners (a global VC fund), VU Capital Partners (a global real estate fund), Bonded (an investor syndicate with over 5,000+ family offices and angel investors, for deal-by-deal investing), Finally Fund Admin (an investment administration platform for creating and managing SPVs and funds), LP Match (matching LPs with GPs), and Innovators Closet (an e-commerce platform).

Learn more: www.Venture.University

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