Timestamps:

1:03 - A day in the life of a VC

3:15 - Accidentally becoming a VC

4:35 - Working for Goldman Sachs

7:13 - Looking after yourself

8:38 - How to get in touch with a VC

10:45 - Vision-based pitch vs Problem statements

13:24 - What a pitch deck should look like

19:44 - Who has the higher leverage — the VC or the startup

22:42 - How VCs finally make a decision

26:30 - A VC's criteria for a startup

43:25 - How a VC actually supports a startup

49:00 - Conflict between investors and founders

57:31 - Being a female VC

About Aleksandra Laska

Aleksandra Laska is a partner at Redalpine and expert Venture Capitalist with broad experience in board management and investment operations. With a background in Law and Finance, she spent 5 intense years on Goldman Sach’s trading floor. In 2013, she started her own business journey with MobileDots Ltd. Believing “people are the foundation for any company’s success”, she holds strong commitment and enthusiasm for solving problems in creative, sustainable ways.

See Aleksandra’s LinkedIn here.

Check out Redalpine’s website here.

Memorable Quotes

"VCs really like it when they see that founders have taken the time to assess their competitive landscape."

"I think the money aspect is a very small part of what a VC does. Investors can open doors for your business that will make it go through the roof."

Resources:

• The TLDR Newsletter
  
• Sifted: Startup Europe explored through grown up reporting
  
• Daily Pnut
  
• WIRED
  
• TechCrunch
  

If you would like to listen to more episodes on being a VC, check out our conversations with Cédric Waldburger and Alex Fries.

Don’t forget to give us a follow on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin accounts, so you can always stay up to date with our latest initiatives. That way, there’s no excuse for missing out on live shows, weekly give-aways or founders dinners!