Explore Podcast | Startups Founders and Investors

Follow Explore Podcast | Startups Founders and Investors
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Explore tells the stories behind the success of entrepreneurs and investors around the world. Hi there👋, I'm Hugo Rauch, a financial analyst at Microsoft and the host of Explore. I've always been fascinated by startups, in 2022 I wrote a 100 pages paper on the startup economy. In 2023, I wanted to learn from experience and I started Explore. I'm made myself the goal of supporting early-stage founders with theoretical and practical learnings. Consider following and giving 5 stars to support the show! ✨ A feedback or an idea, reach out to me on LinkedIn (Hugo Rauch). 🤝 explorepodcast.substack.com

Hugo Rauch


    • Jul 21, 2026 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 44m AVG DURATION
    • 137 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Explore Podcast | Startups Founders and Investors with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Explore Podcast | Startups Founders and Investors

    #103 - EDF, HTGF, Tetmet - Can Startups Reindustrialise Europe?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2026 51:25


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Brought to you by:EDF: partnering with New Wave on this mini-series to explore how cleaner energy, industrial innovation, and ambitious startups can rebuild Europe's productive edge. Discover EDF's work with industrial and climate innovators here.****

    american europe european startups vc venture 10k grants new wave edf
    #102 - Marco Bertone - Syntetica - Nylon's dirty secret

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2026 58:02


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ceo fresh michelin lululemon nylon dirty secrets uniqlo bertone
    #101 - Juan Nieto - Zacua VC - "Cement is the world's 3rd largest emitter"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2026 54:26


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Supported by:Leonard: The innovation and foresight platform of the VINCI Group, to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing VINCI's businesses: the digital revolution, the accelerating pace of innovation, and the environmental transition.****

    innovation construction saas largest vinci nieto cement cemex emitter
    #100 - Driss Laraqui - Fenix Energy - Using Iron as a Fuel to Replace Natural Gas

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2026 49:45


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Supported by:Leonard: The innovation and foresight platform of the VINCI Group, to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing VINCI's businesses: the digital revolution, the accelerating pace of innovation, and the environmental transition.****

    ceo europe energy fuel vinci natural gas capex fenix driss
    #99 - Clara Ricard - Transition - "Hardware can scale as fast as software, China proved it"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2026 40:56


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    china transition tesla software scale spacex saas vc hardware proved ricard asml
    #98 - Andreas Saari - Paebbl - The cement that stores carbon - (live recording)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2026 24:34


    Brought to you by:Heights: a design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    amazon ai europe andreas carbon stores heights live recording cement gabri saari holcim co founder co ceo
    #97 - Beau-Anne Chilla - FORWARD.one - "Technology without commercialization is just expensive science"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 41:37


    Brought to you by:Heights: a design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe science technology partner investing forward improving expensive heights commercialization gabri chilla
    #96 - Assia Kasdi - Milvus Advanced - "Can we create metals like we create shampoos?"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 42:02


    Brought to you by:Heights: a design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ceo phd oxford heights shampoo metals gabri assia
    #95 - Maximilian Schwarz - Nucleus - "It needs to feel uncomfortable sitting with them"

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2026 52:13


    Brought to you by:Heights: a design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    american europe european mvp sitting uncomfortable heights schwarz nucleus gabri founder managing partner
    #94 - Renaud Visage - SlateVC - The CTO behind Eventbrite is now chasing Europe's climate unicorns

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2026 53:41


    Brought to you by:Heights: a design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe co founders european climate chasing unicorns cto ipo heights capital one eventbrite renaud visage series b gabri index ventures
    #93 - Patrik Möller - CorPower Ocean - "Wave energy could surpass global nuclear capacity."

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2026 38:36


    Brought to you by Heights:A design agency founded by Gabri Grassi, helping impact-driven tech companies sharpen their brand, attract investors, and scale their reach. Grab your free brand checklist here or reach out to Gabri to elevate your brand.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    global ocean lego nuclear capacity patrik surpass gabri patrick m wave energy
    #92 - Timothée Parrique - "You can't save the climate with capitalism"

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 61:44


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    university climate capitalism ngos timoth lausanne parrique planetary boundaries
    #91 - Ahmed Ismail - Dunia - Where AI meets material discovery

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2026 80:39


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ai berlin chatgpt discovery coo material dunia ismail
    #90 - Carl-Magnus Norden - Decade Energy - Powering the next generation of trucks

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2026 53:52


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe china lessons energy turning tesla next generation decade trucks norden powering carl magnus volta trucks
    Lea Strumberger (KfW Capital): Inside Germany's $1B Fund of Fund

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2026 48:14


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Thanks you, Morning for hosting the podcast this week. Get 20% off your next meeting room (in Paris), just say you're coming from Hugo at New Wave.****

    spotify europe germany capital fund lp new wave lps series b dpi
    [5/5] Energy Carriers | Andy Lubershane (Energy Impact Partners)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2026 41:55


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    partner breakthrough metal beating carriers energy impact partners
    Arnaud Tran (Voltaback): The Economics of Corporate EV Charging

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2026 44:00


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ceo europe china economics corporate ev evs tran arnaud ev charging
    [4/5] Geologic Hydrogen & Geothermal | Andy Lubershane (Energy Impact Partners)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2026 37:26


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    future partner hydrogen swiss army geothermal geologic energy impact partners
    Torsten Kolind (UGV): Can Geothermal Scale Beyond Iceland?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2026 51:44


    Thanks you, Morning for hosting the podcast this week. Get 20% off your next meeting room (in Paris), just say you're coming from Hugo at New Wave.****Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe future scale iceland vc new wave torsten geothermal
    [3/5] How cheap can solar really get? Andy Lubershane (Energy Impact Partners)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2026 33:58


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    earth partner solar cheap energy impact partners
    James Gutman: The Iran War Is Accelerating Europe's Energy Transition

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2026 36:26


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe china energy goldman sachs accelerating iran war energy transition carlyle group gutman james you
    [2/5] Is it worth betting on fusion? Andy Lubershane (Energy Impact Partners)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2026 24:50


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    partner betting fusion energy impact partners
    [1/5] The Case for a Nuclear Renaissance | Andy Lubershane (Energy Impact Partners)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2026 33:55


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    partner cost renaissance nuclear smrs energy impact partners west china gen iv
    Abhi Desai (Desai Ventures): The Missing Link in Fixing Methane

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2026 34:33


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    indian fixing vc satellites ventures missing link methane desai abhi
    Jared O'Leary (SirenOpt): Fixing Advanced Manufacturing

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2026 32:56


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    reach fixing advanced manufacturing
    Otto Birnbaum (Revent): Conviction, Follow-Ons & 100x Outcomes

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2026 42:21


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ai timing conviction outcomes founding partners 200m 300m 100x 60m 75m birnbaum
    Thor Gutierrez (Sirona): Is Direct Air Capture a Distraction?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2026 52:00


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe energy middle east tesla distractions norway thor solid compliance founder ceo capture gutierrez voluntary dac lca sirona
    Fabian Heilemann (AENU): The 2026 Playbook for Climate VCs

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2026 43:48


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe capital climate roi gps playbook esg lp general partners
    Sarah Sclarsic (Voyager): Electrification is the New Default

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2026 39:03


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Listen now:Apple // Spotify // YouTube

    ai massive rebuilding vc lp default voyager lps electrification cleantech
    Fabien Koutchekian (Genomines): Can Plants Replace Mines?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 5, 2026 58:20


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    raising transitioning plants evs mines r d co founder ceo fabien
    Katie Marsh (Recupere): Fixing Europe's Copper Problem

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2026 33:32


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe fresh fixing marsh 5m copper co founder ceo oems
    Jacob Bro (2150): Closing a €210M Fund for Urban Climate Tech

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2026 36:45


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe urban fund lp gdp general partners climatetech
    Joško Bobanović (Sofinnova Partners): The VC Playbook for Industrial Biotech

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2026 54:08


    Subscribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    europe partner playbook industrial ipo platforms biotech vcs sofinnova partners
    Martijn Lopes Cardozo (Regeneration VC): Circular Economy VC Playbook

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2026 53:19


    Subcribe to the newsletter:New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****Thank you to this week's sponsor:Accelerating Impact - a non-profit advancing impact finance by mobilizing capital and running free accelerator programs for emerging fund managers. Join for expert coaching, training, financial support, and a strong community. Apply here.****

    partner ikea playbook vc regeneration lopes hm circular economy martijn cardozo subcribe
    Jahed Momand (Cerulean Ventures): AI, Nature & Pre-Seed Bets

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2026 51:38


    Subcribe to the newsletter: New Wave | Hugo Rauch | Substack****

    ai nature bets ventures general partners subcribe cerulean pre seed
    Jessica Burley (Planet A): Funding the Physical World in Europe

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2026 27:57


    Thank you to this week's sponsor:Accelerating Impact - a non-profit advancing impact finance by mobilizing capital and running free accelerator programs for emerging fund managers. Join for expert coaching, training, financial support, and a strong community. Apply here.***

    europe planet investors funding vcs burley physical world
    Erik Engellau (Norrsken Launcher): How To Commercialize Science

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2026 53:52


    Thank you to this week's sponsor:Accelerating Impact - a non-profit advancing impact finance by mobilizing capital and running free accelerator programs for emerging fund managers. Join for expert coaching, training, financial support, and a strong community. Apply here.***

    ceo founders europe science strategic ip vc launcher norrsken norrsken foundation
    AI for Materials: Breakthrough or Illusion?

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2025 45:28


    Sign up to New Wave's newsletter. ***This week on New Wave Weekly:

    europe china breakthrough illusion producing materials vertical new wave foundational commercialization sparse inorganic
    Anna Finizio: Inside Europe's Largest LP (EIF)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 17, 2025 45:03


    Thank you to this week's sponsor:Accelerating Impact - a non-profit advancing impact finance by mobilizing capital and running free accelerator programs for emerging fund managers. Join for expert coaching, training, financial support, and a strong community. Apply here.***

    europe vc largest lp vcs lps investment manager eif
    [Live @ Supercluster] #5: Microgrids, storage, and the grid bottleneck with Simon Belka (Shifted-Energy)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 21:30


    europe energy co founders storage shifted kw bottleneck capex microgrids belka supercluster
    [Live @ Supercluster] #4: The state of European climate tech with Eglantine Dupuy (Dealroom)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 20:49


    ai europe european defense vc 100m vcs research associate series b corporates climatetech dupuy dealroom eglantine supercluster
    [Live @ Supercluster] #3: From pilot to scale: EDF on working with startups (David Ferguson)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 26:52


    head culture pilot startups scale edf david ferguson supercluster
    [Live @ Supercluster] #2: Investing in industrial green tech with Marc Lechantre (Axeleo)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 35:53


    europe partner investing industrial greentech supercluster
    [Live @ Supercluster] #1: Why Europe needs more collaboration with Sam Goodall (Cambridge Cleantech)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2025 26:00


    Sam Goodall on Europe's Climate Tech “Supercluster”In Paris, I sat down with Sam Goodall, CEO of Cambridge Cleantech and co-founder of the Climate Tech Supercluster.We unpacked a question I kept hearing:Why does Europe lead in climate innovation, but fall behind on scale?Sam's take is refreshingly clear: Climate tech is spread too thin. We miss an obvious “Silicon Valley” to go to.That's why he created the Supercluster approach: a series of events across Europe (London, Paris, Amsterdam) that increases the collision rate, and let smart people collaborate.Here's what we covered:→ Europe's superpower: the research base (TRL 1-3)→ Where the system breaks: scaling post-TRL 7 + “value leakage”→ The missing link: capital that matches deeptech timelines→ Why corporates are the de-risking engine for FOAK → 2026+ opportunities: industrial decarb + data center energy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

    ceo europe silicon valley collaboration climate amsterdam cambridge cleantech goodall trl supercluster
    Marion Schuppe: Makesense Announces €25M Pre-Seed Impact Fund

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 11, 2025 21:56


    Makesense just closed its €25M pre-seed fund:So we sat down with Marion Schuppe to unpack what it really takes to build an impact-first VC from a nonprofit DNA.

    europe european dna vc fundraising operating ngo make sense lps 25m pre seed impact fund schuppe
    The Food Tech Playbook: What Actually Scales

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2025 45:42


    This week on New Wave Weekly:

    growth food medicine seed b2b revenue playbook 100m glp scales beyond meat foodtech oatly
    Sid Khullar: Raising $10M (Pre-Seed) to Build the Agentic OS for Manufacturing

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2025 37:33


    ai europe raising excellence os manufacturing machines 10m co founder ceo agentic northvolt pre seed
    Douglas Sloan: How Impact LPs Pick Funds

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 2, 2025 48:13


    Thank you to this week's sponsor:Accelerating Impact - a non-profit advancing impact finance by mobilizing capital and running free accelerator programs for emerging fund managers. Join for expert coaching, training, financial support, and a strong community. Apply here.***

    head europe uk impact practical gps lp venture funds dougie how lps
    AI for Manufacturing: Can Agents Take Over?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2025 49:02


    This week on New Wave Weekly:

    ai europe china os founded manufacturing drift palantir aris northvolt forges are western
    Alex Bakir: Fixing the Pre-Seed Sophistication Gap

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2025 36:50


    We're joined by Alex Bakir, Partner at Norrsken Evolve, an operator-turned-investor who has built and scaled companies across Silicon Valley and Europe before launching one of the continent's most distinctive early-stage climate funds.In this episode, we dive into why Europe's climate tech story needs a new foundation, one rooted in productive capacity, supply-chain sovereignty, and operator-led support for founders, and what it really takes to convince LPs in today's market.In our conversation, we covered:→ Why climate cycles repeat, and why this one is different→ What Alex actually sold to LPs (and why he was oversubscribed)→ The real gap at pre-seed: sophistication, not capital→ Momentum as the new signal: how Norrsken Evolve picks winners→ Why resilience ≠ defense, and what Europe misunderstands→ The role of regionalization and the end of “global by default.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

    europe partner silicon valley momentum fixing lps sophistication pre seed
    Einride's $1.8B IPO: Hype, Hope, and Heavy Trucks

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 21, 2025 37:41


    This week on New Wave Weekly:

    europe european tesla hype vertical nyse spac tco einride heavy trucks

    Claim Explore Podcast | Startups Founders and Investors

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel