E301 | EUVC | Rainer Märkle, General Partner at HV Capital on going from a CVC to venture capital capital

Rainer Märkle is the General Partner of HV Capital, €380m Venture and €400m Growth fund, with almost €3BN AUM.Rainer joined HV 15 years ago. In his third week at the firm, HV invested in Zalando. Accompanying the founders of Zalando from seed to IPO and beyond has been the most rewarding chapter in his VC career. It taught him that anything is possible, boundaries are imaginary, and amazing things can happen by working in the right set-up. Aside from this, he has been involved in big exit stories with HelloFresh, Quandoo, and Stylight. Some of his other highlights include working with Scalable Capital, Alasco and finn.auto.In his spare time, Rainer is a family guy. He also likes to push boundaries in sports, participating in the Ironman World Championships Hawaii and many other endurance events.Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀Chapters:03:16 Rainer’s Journey: From Engineer to VC04:04 Diving Deep into HV Capital07:21 Transitioning from Corporate VC to Independent Fundraising10:56 Raising Funds in a Challenging Market13:26 Maintaining Trust with Existing LPs16:03 Keep Your Principles Against Market Hype30:57 Strategies for Achieving Fundraising Goals32:39 The Importance of DPI in Fundraising34:33 Balancing Act: Liquidity vs. Value Potential37:34 Decision-Making Dynamics Within the Firm39:29 Adjusting Strategies and Narratives in Changing Markets42:05 Insights for Emerging VCs and Fundraising Challenges44:30 Shout Outs to Emerging Managers and Partners48:26 Key Learnings from the Latest Fundraise51:43 Advice for Younger Selves and Emerging VCs