“We need to be in San Francisco to win in Europe,” says Spotify and Lovable backer

Staffan Helgesson, the founder of Swedish VC firm Creandum, has stated that the firm needs to be in San Francisco to successfully invest in European tech companies. This sentiment came to light as Sequoia, a US VC firm, announced the closure of its London office. Earlier this year, Creandum announced the closing of its largest fund to date, a $750 million fund, known as Fund VIII, which is twice the size of its previous fund, Fund VII.

The new fund was launched after Creandum opened its first office in San Francisco in 2012. In an interview on the Tech.eu podcast, Helgesson emphasized the importance of having a presence in San Francisco to be influential with their portfolio companies. He explained that the firm's multi-hub strategy, which includes offices in Stockholm, Berlin, London, and San Francisco, has proven challenging but ultimately beneficial.

Helgesson emphasized that the execution of the model is more important than the model itself. He also discussed the ease of raising money for the new fund and how Creandum plans to utilize the funds. Furthermore, Helgesson highlighted Creandum's investment thesis, stating that they will not compromise on the quality of entrepreneurs they invest in, regardless of the area of interest.

With one in six of their early-stage investments valued at $1 billion or more, Helgesson indicated that maintaining this level of investment quality despite the challenges of the venture industry will be a significant undertaking.