Meeting priorities

ISTCAPITAL invests in venture funds while also choosing companies directly.¹ Furkan is a credible Fund IV prospect. Ask what he wants from a seed fund alongside his direct investments, with BACKED's second investment in James Dacombe as a starting point.

Cendana backs seed managers. For Fund IV, Kelli's focus on founder networks and partner time is the useful starting point: how does BACKED keep both strong as its existing portfolio grows?¹² BACKED's renewed backing of James Dacombe gives the conversation a concrete starting point, alongside evidence of how the partners are meeting new founders today.

Inference's manager-evaluation and allocation work makes Erasmus a useful Fund IV conversation.¹ Establish which European-seed mandates he can act on, then use CoMind to discuss how BACKED evaluates an uncertain technical investment as evidence develops.

ZEISS's recorded investment in Matterwave provides a concrete starting point for discussing another external manager.¹ Mike's semiconductor-equipment work makes earlier access to technical founders the useful topic: what has ZEISS gained through Matterwave, and which founders or technologies would it want another manager to add?

Uplift's new fund expressly includes selected deep-tech venture funds alongside company investments.¹ Christian's first Uplift investment, PreScalar, gives the conversation an industrial-software starting point: which founder networks or technical areas would he want another manager to add?

Robin led Lloyds' anchor investment in Lansdowne's UK Scale-Up fund.¹ Thought Machine gives BACKED and Lloyds a shared company through which to discuss a different part of the investment cycle: whether an earlier seed-manager relationship would advance the bank's stated interest in reaching founders before a prototype exists.

eBay's Decart investment and Henri's questions about AI's control of customer interfaces make model infrastructure a specific conversation for this meeting.¹² BACKED's Medal/General Intuition relationship gives the partners a different data and model approach to discuss, before establishing what eBay wants an outside manager to add.

Emergence's published scope is venture funds under €100 million; BACKED's €125–150 million target is above it.¹² The useful discussion is whether the proposed fund can preserve the early-stage economics Emergence seeks, and whether a current Emergence vehicle can consider that size.

EIFO has already asked BACKED for historical Nordic and Danish deal flow and its investment-sector mix.¹ Carl's meeting should carry that request forward: what evidence will let the fund-investment team assess the Danish benefit and commercial case for Fund IV?

Johannes is focused on how Europe's deep-tech companies attract capital through to global scale.¹ Use CoMind to discuss the financing and commercial support needed after seed, then settle how EIF's geography test would apply to BACKED.

This is an open personal LP discussion with Frederico, following Jodi's explanation of the BACKED IV vehicle and individual minimum.¹ The meeting should establish his remaining investment questions and what he needs to evaluate a personal commitment.

Connor has worked closely with Tom Critchley-Smith on much of OUEM's venture portfolio.¹ With the deck already delivered, the meeting can examine the manager case: how BACKED's founder knowledge and investment judgment carry into the larger fourth fund.

Troismer's VC-manager model makes this a primary-fund conversation.¹ BACKED's partial realization in Flow Engineering provides a concrete subject for Yannick's assessment: how the manager decides to take cash out while retaining exposure to a company. Invited Thibaut Busschaert brings a separate secondary-investment perspective if he joins.

Conficap's CapMan Growth II commitment and Tommi's emphasis on allocation and diversification make the role of earlier-stage venture a useful discussion.¹² Flow Engineering gives BACKED a concrete history through which to examine capital duration, partial cash realization and the exposure a seed manager adds to the family portfolio.

Christian expects managers to explain their AI strategy, including how technical applications are validated.¹ Flow Engineering gives BACKED a specific investment to discuss. Ask which German investments and deployment plans KfW would need to see before reviewing Fund IV.

Arcas already backs technical founders directly and through specialist early-stage managers.¹ The useful Fund IV discussion is what BACKED would add to that coverage: repeated access to a founder across different businesses, round leadership and the capital to sustain ownership.

Tesi has already asked BACKED about Finland: its market view, existing portfolio exposure, pipeline and sourcing.¹ Tapio's meeting can turn that request into a specific assessment of local contribution and the appropriate fund-investment route.

HVC's stated venture-fund portfolio makes this a manager-allocation discussion, with specialist European seed relationships already in its history.¹² BACKED's initial ownership and follow-on decisions are the useful comparison: what investment behavior would Oliver want from another manager alongside those relationships?

Fiyin's interest in power-market software makes CloudNC a useful comparison: what persuades an investor that software will become part of an operator's daily work?¹ Use that company discussion to establish what Transpose would need to assess BACKED as a manager.

HMC's preference for distinctive investors and its commitment-pacing discipline set two questions for Fund IV: does more capital strengthen BACKED's existing investment edge, and how would the likely calls fit the endowment's planning?¹²

Charlie asked to share Prologis Ventures' forthcoming UK/EU ambitions and hear BACKED's update.¹ His TMV fund relationship and UNIT AI investment give the discussion a concrete choice: what specialist access does Prologis want from managers alongside its own company investing?

Konstantin welcomed a catch-up after Milken LA.¹ KLIWLA's reported specialist-manager holdings give the meeting a concrete portfolio question: what would broader European seed exposure through BACKED add alongside those relationships?

Dan values a manager's sector knowledge, access to rounds and treatment of smaller LPs.¹ Ask how BACKED wins and leads investments across different technical fields, and what Colibri would expect from the relationship as a smaller LP.

Edouard has written about the choice between returning cash earlier and retaining exposure for greater upside.¹ BACKED's reported partial sale in Flow Engineering gives the existing manager relationship a concrete decision to examine, before identifying the current Reference portfolio that could review Fund IV.

Louis's fund-investment remit gives Andre and Alex a route into NIF's manager-review process.¹ Use CloudNC to discuss the manufacturing founders BACKED reaches early, then ask what evidence his team would need to assess Fund IV.