Summary
The core message of this panel was that Europe’s global growth potential depends less on the “passport” of capital and more on whether founders can access value-added investors, long-duration funding, local commercial networks, and an ecosystem capable of supporting global ambition. After introducing Ritika from ICONIQ Growth, Ara from Teacher Ventures Growth, and Dominik Stein from EQT Growth and the Scaleup Europe Fund, the discussion opened with whether it matters if a European company raises a growth round from New York rather than Europe. Ritika argued that geography matters less than the resources, philosophy, and platform that come with the money, citing support such as commercial introductions, hiring, analytics, advisory boards, and global pattern recognition.
Key Topics
5 key topics from Dominik Stein, Ara Yeromian, Ritika Pai and Maximilian Harl at Bits & Pretzels 2026 | Founders Festival in Munich. Thicker branches were mentioned more often in the talk.
Key Takeaways
- Evaluate investors by operating value, not geographic label.
- Secure long-duration capital before scale-up funding needs intensify.
- Build for pan-European expansion earlier than feels comfortable.
- Hire experienced go-to-market leaders for global scaling.
- Turn regulatory and localization complexity into organizational strength.
“entrepreneurs have caught up with the Americans and generally with global ambition of building big businesses.”
Up Next
Next in agenda
The Clarity Gap: Why High-Performing Teams Don’t Avoid Conflict – They Create Clarity
Also on venture capital
The EU Scaleup Fund
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