Public markets around the world have been tanking for the past few weeks, and many companies simply cant operate during a lockdown.
Sheltering in place has had some terrible economic consequences, with a record number of Americans getting laid off, including many startup employees.But what is happening in Europe? You might also be wondering whether European tech startups have to lay off a significant chunk of their workforce and whether financial capital has become scarce.Thats why I interviewed Jean de La Rochebrochard, a partner for Kima Ventures, backed by French telco and media entrepreneur Xavier Niel.
They focus on seed and Series A investments and invest in dozens of startups each year.
He oversees hundreds of startup investments at any given time, which means he has his finger on the pulse of the tech ecosystem in France and across Europe.The interview was translated from French and edited for clarity and brevity.
A Technology News Room: At Kima Ventures, have you seen any change when it comes to investment pace?Jean de La Rochebrochard: There has been a big change at the deal-flow level.
But we already committed to some deals before the lockdown.
Were currently closing all the deals that we were looking at.
Over the past 15 days, weve closed 15 deals, I think.So it might slow down in the next 15 or 30 daysYes, its going to slow down, thats for sure.
But well only know for sure in a month when were done with our backlog.