Chris Smith from Playfair Capital: EUVC #16

**Title:** Chris Smith on Playfair Capital’s Value Add Strategies for Startups | The European VC Podcast (Part 2)

**Description:**

Welcome back to the second part of our two-part episode with Chris Smith, the managing partner at Playfair Capital. In this episode, we dive deep into deal flow, founder profiles, and Playfair’s unique value add strategies.

**Key Topics Discussed:**
– Privileged access to stellar first-time founders
– Playfair’s comprehensive value add strategy that goes beyond the ordinary
– Playfair’s commitment to caring for their founders’ well-being
– The creation of Female Founder Office Hours and its impact on Playfair’s deal flow

Visit [Playfair Capital](https://playfaircapital.com/about/) to learn more about their investments in seed and pre-seed startups in the UK, Europe, and Israel.

Listen to episode 14 [here](https://link-to-episode14) to gain insights on being a single-LP firm and post-Covid market dynamics.

Keywords: capital, entrepreneurship, female, investing, preseed, seed, startups, vc, venture, venturecapital

**Transcript:**

[00:00]
Welcome back to the second part of our two-part episode with Chris Smith, managing partner at Playfair Capital. In the previous episode, we discussed being a single-LP firm and post-Covid market dynamics. Now, let’s continue where we left off as Chris shares insights on deal flow, founder profiles, and Playfair’s value add strategies.

[00:30]
**How to Get Privileged Access to Stellar First-Time Founders:**
Chris highlights the importance of market coverage and tracking founders and funding rounds to ensure Playfair is seeing the deals they want. Their coverage is already good, but they are continuously striving to improve it. Additionally, they focus their efforts on the B2B space, targeting accelerators, and strategic events.

[02:15]
**Playfair’s Unique Value Add Strategy:**
Chris emphasizes Playfair’s commitment to going beyond capital injections when supporting their founders. They have a targeted approach, combining their reputation as a magnet in the ecosystem with a laser-focused outbound strategy. Playfair’s team, including their secret weapon Joe, works closely with founders to help them scale their teams effectively. Joe’s expertise in talent acquisition, gained from his experience at Google and Facebook, enables them to provide hands-on assistance in finding and hiring the right people.

[04:10]
**Caring for Founders’ Well-Being:**
Playfair stands out by genuinely caring for their founders’ well-being. They recognize the challenges founders face and actively support them throughout their journey. Playfair’s dedication to their founders’ success extends beyond financial investments.

[06:00]
**The Impact of Female Founder Office Hours:**
Chris discusses the creation of Female Founder Office Hours and its positive impact on Playfair’s deal flow. By providing a platform specifically for female founders, Playfair has increased their visibility in the ecosystem and attracted a diverse range of talented entrepreneurs.

To learn more about Playfair Capital’s investments in seed and pre-seed startups, visit their [website](https://playfaircapital.com/about/).

Listen to [episode 14](https://link-to-episode14) to gain insights on being a single-LP firm and understanding post-Covid market dynamics.

Follow us on [Spreaker](https://spreaker.com/europeanvc) for more episodes on venture capital, entrepreneurship, and investing.

#VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup #EUVC

*Timestamps are approximate and may vary.*

Chris Smith is the managing partner at Playfair Capital investing in seed & pre-seed in the UK, Europe and Israel. This is the second part of a two-part episode with Chris. If you haven’t done it yet, we strongly recommend you go back and listen to episode 14 with Chris on being a single-LP firm, post-Covid market dynamics . In this episode we dive deep on deal flow, founder profiles, and Playfair’s value add strategies.

In this episode you’ll learn:
– Ways to get privileged access to stellar first-time founders.
– How Playfair’s value add strategy goes way beyond the ordinary and draws on every partner at their team.
– Why and how Playfair goes beyond the headline grabbing capital injections and actually cares for their founders’ well-being.
– What led to the creation of the female founder office hours and its impact in Playfair’s deal flow so far.

#VC #VentureCapital #Investing #TheEuropeanVC #Podcast #Tech #Startup #EUVC