EP 170 - Jim Pulcrano: Why Most Venture Capital Fails And What Europe Still Gets Wrong

EP 170 - Jim Pulcrano: Why Most Venture Capital Fails And What Europe Still Gets Wrong

From Beginner's Mind by Christian Soschner

January 25, 2026 · 1h 56m · Season 7 · Episode 2

About this episode

Jim Pulcrano discusses the failures of venture capital in Europe and the misconceptions surrounding startup funding.

Nine out of ten startups fail, yet Europe keeps funding them the same way. Governments replace judgment with bureaucracy, capital replaces experience, and failure is misunderstood instead of learned from. This conversation exposes why venture capital is a profession, not a policy tool — and why getting this wrong quietly kills innovation. In this episode, Jim Pulcrano, Adjunct Professor at IMD and longtime venture investor, explains why most venture capital systems fail before capital is eve...

People in this episode

Guest: Jim Pulcrano

Topics covered

  • venture capital
  • startups
  • innovation
  • Europe
  • failure

Keywords

  • bureaucracy
  • capital
  • experience
  • policy tool

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Europe

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