Building Global Tech from Europe: The VC Playbook

What does it take to turn a two-person startup in Paris into a $6.8 billion exit, and then do it all over again for 200 other founders?In this episode of Decoded, Dr. Jurgi Camblong speaks with Bernard Liautaud, co-founder of BusinessObjects and Managing Partner at Balderton Capital, one of Europe's leading venture capital firms backing category-defining companies like Revolut, Wayve, and Quantum Systems.Bernard didn't just build a company. He built a category. Starting with two people in Paris in 1990, he helped define what business intelligence could be, took the company to NASDAQ, and sold it to SAP for $6.8 billion. Then he turned that experience into fuel for the next generation of European founders.You'll hear why Europe's VC returns have quietly outperformed the US, how Balderton evaluates founders and the one trait they call "insurgency," what the story of Revolut reveals about the power of execution, why Bernard believes Europe has not just the talent but the values to build AI responsibly, and the philosophy behind his most personal insight: as a VC, you have many shots. As a founder, you have one.This episode is about what happens when ambition meets experience, and why Europe's most exciting chapter may still be ahead of us.