Stephan De Moraes from Indigo Capital Partners on investing in startups in Southern Europe

Stephan de Moraes (aka Stephan Morais) is the founder and Managing General Partner of Indico Capital Partners (www.indicocapital.com), a leading venture capital tech and sustainability-focused firm based in Portugal. In this episode, Stephan De Moraes, Managing General Partner at Indigo Capital Partners, shares his journey from consulting and banking to founding a leading venture capital firm in Southern Europe. Stephan discusses the challenges of raising funds in emerging ecosystems, the traits of successful unicorn startups, and why Portuguese startups aim global from day one. He explores the intersection of sustainability and tech with Indigo’s ocean-focused fund, balancing emerging technologies like AI with impactful investments. Stephan also shares lessons on hiring top talent, navigating IPO and M&A markets, practical advice for emerging VC managers, and much more! Timestamps 00:01:15 - Stephan’s journey: from consulting to investment banking and starting his own startup. 00:02:45 - Transition into venture capital during the dot-com boom and bust. 00:04:30 - Founding Indigo Capital Partners and challenges in raising the first fund. 00:06:15 - Expansion into South European markets: Portugal, Spain, and Italy. 00:07:45 - Differences between Northern and Southern European startup ecosystems. 00:09:30 - The importance of going global early for startups in Portugal. 00:11:00 - Capital availability disparities between Europe and the US. 00:13:15 - Common traits of successful unicorn startups. 00:14:50 - Advice on hiring senior talent to accelerate startup growth. 00:16:15 - Challenges of finding the right investors and board members. 00:17:40 - Launching an ocean-focused sustainability fund. 00:19:10 - Balancing emerging technologies like AI and sustainability investments. 00:21:30 - The importance of focusing on geographic and sectoral mandates in VC. 00:23:45 - Decision-making processes in selecting deals for investment. 00:25:10 - Exciting sectors in Southern European startups: SaaS, marketplaces, and industrial innovations. 00:27:15 - Outlook on the IPO and M&A markets. 00:29:45 - Lessons from fundraising challenges when starting Indigo Capital. 00:31:30 - Mistakes and learnings from early fund investments. Stephan’s Links  LDN– ​​https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanmorais/ Website –  www.indicocapital.com My Links  Podcast: https://lifeselfmastery.com/itunes YouTube:  youtube.com/lifeselfmastery Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitmal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit857/ Agency: https://bit.ly/41YuNnx