Welcome to the first episode of the special series NEUVC, hosted by Freddie Macpherson, analyst at Isomer Capital, and Linda Võeras, associate at Karma Ventures. Today we have Martin Krag with us. Martin is a partner at byFounders, a seed fund looking to back the best tech founders in the new Nordics. We spoke to Martin to hear how he rose to partner in four years, the firm culture and coaching the courage to do so, and, of course, his own secret sauce of excellence.Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction of Martin & byFounders 00:01:52 - Incentive alignment and portfolio assistance00:03:24 - Joining a Startup Venture Capital Firm00:04:44 - The importance of decisiveness for VCs00:06:07 - Using Analysts for Understanding Spaces and Sectors00:07:43 - Progression and Responsibility Levels00:09:17 - The Importance of Curiosity and Quick Learning00:10:41 - Finding Focus and Prioritizing00:12:09 - Balancing Networking and Board Responsibilities00:13:35 - The Fluid Partnership with Founders and Career Development00:15:09 - Building a Strong Team and Defined Roles00:16:42 - Calibrating New Hires for Long-Term Aspirations00:18:04 - Transparency and Core Values in VC Industry00:19:39 - Career Progression and Future at the Fund00:21:18 - The Responsibility of Partners and Youngsters in Investment Decisions00:22:40 - Avoidable Mistakes made by Junior VC Team00:24:29 - Being Patient and Calibrating Before Making Decisions00:25:58 - The Perspective of a Poker Player-Investor00:27:30 - Dreaming with the Founders00:28:57 - Diversifying Experience in the VC Industry00:30:42 - Choosing between being a VC or Founder00:32:19 - The Challenges of Being a VC00:34:14 - Building a Fund and Firm00:36:15 - Experience and Bad Judgment