Venture Voices

On this episode of Venture Voices we are joined by Nicholas Wijnberg, Founder and General Partner at Lorimer Ventures, who dives into how they support scaling startups, the future of SaaS, AI’s impact on finance, and what makes a founder truly investable.

For the first episode of Venture Voices in 2025, we sit down with Jaja Liao, Principal at 25 Madison, a venture studio and early-stage fund focused on pre-seed and seed investing.

In this conversation, Jaja offers valuable insights into 25 Madison’s investment strategy, the role of AI in private equity-backed companies, and what makes a founder stand out in a pitch. She also shares why now is an opportune moment for startups to target PE firms as their first enterprise customers and highlights industries ripe for disruption, including industrial distribution and regulated sectors.

In our final Venture Voices episode of 2024, we sit down with Laura Willming, Head of Talent at Octopus Ventures, to explore the intricate dynamics of company growth and founder challenges. From the critical role of the CFO to the art of nailing board dynamics, Laura shares unparalleled insights from supporting one of Europe’s most exciting VC portfolios.

For this episode of Venture Voices we sat down with one of the partners and directors at Fuel Ventures, Stan Williams.

Fuel Ventures 🚀is a Venture Capital firm that focuses on investing in early stage, European technology companies and Stan has been with the company for six and a half years, helping scalable tech deals on their journey toward exit.  

In this episode we dive into Fuel Ventures reputation and investment/growth metrics and post-funding support. Stan puts himself in a founder’s shoes and highlights the need for adaptability and resilience when fundraising.

Venture Voices has landed in Manchester and for this episode we are joined by Jessica Jackson, Investment Manager at Praetura Ventures.

Praetura Ventures is a venture capital firm based in Manchester, that focuses on backing businesses in the North.

In this episode we dive into how Praetura are supporting the growing tech ecosystem up north, what they look for in startup founders and the importance of hiring the right finance leader to scale your business.

For our second Venture Voices Interview, we have the privilege of featuring Ben Winn, Director of Communities at FirstMark.

FirstMark is an early-stage venture capital fund based in New York who over their 15-year history, have invested in notable companies such as Pinterest, Shopify, Airbnb, DraftKings, and Discord.

Ben joined us to discuss FirstMark's unique platform approach, how they support their founder's growth and how they assess potential platform partners. Dive into the interview to learn about why FirstMark value metrics, mentorship and fostering genuine connections.

Forum Ventures, an early-stage B2B SaaS fund, accelerator, and AI studio, dedicated to supporting founders throughout their zero-to-one journey, joined us to launch our new interview series: Venture Voices. In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Partner & GM of Forum Venture’s Platform, Olivia O'Sullivan to explore the unique methodologies and forward-thinking strategies that set Forum Ventures apart in the venture capital landscape.

Discover how Forum Ventures’ successful investment strategies involve assessing startups' financial health, evaluating partnerships, and nurturing founders' growth. Gain valuable guidance for founders on how to stand out when pitching to VCs, and delve into the insights and expertise of one of the leading names in venture capital.