European venture capital (“VC”) has suffered hard times: returns in the last 15 years have been poor; fund-raising is about 10% of the U.S.; and new European regulations have narrowed the base of potential investors. Institutional investors often say that there is no opportunity in European VC, beyond a few funds and a few places. I’ve heard a series of explanations: European economies are stagnant and rigid; Europeans are status-conscious and risk-averse; all the action for the mobile/cloud/digital-media economy is in Silicon Valley; there are few good entrepreneurs in Europe.
