EP 179: Joško Bobanović | Why Venture Capital Fights Human Instinct

What happens when the instinct to help a struggling company is exactly what prevents the strongest companies from succeeding? Venture capital forces investors to make decisions that can feel deeply uncomfortable: stop rescuing the weakest, concentrate scarce capital behind the most promising, and accept that most investments will fail.Deep tech intensifies this conflict. Investors must commit capital while the technology remains unproven, customers are still uncertain and the eventual exit may be more than a decade away. The wrong team, an inflated valuation or a fund timeline that does not fit the technology can destroy an otherwise promising company.Joško Bobanović, Partner at Sofinnova, explains how experienced investors make these decisions without ever receiving complete information. He reveals why people matter more than patents, why founders must start selling before they have a product and why investors should support management from the back seat—without trying to drive the company themselves.Beginning with a destructive storm Joško predicted but could not prevent, the conversation develops into a practical guide to risk, patience and capital allocation. It also confronts Europe’s central deep-tech challenge: the continent produces exceptional science, but without sufficient scale-up capital, specialist investors and corporate buyers, much of the value will be created elsewhere.WHAT LISTENERS CAN EXPECT TO LEARNWhy successful venture investing requires resisting the instinct to rescue struggling portfolio companiesHow investors make consequential decisions with partial information—and recognize when it is time to stop researchingWhy the team, storytelling and customer conversations can matter more than exceptional technology aloneHow inflated valuations, ten-year fund structures and limited exit opportunities affect deep-tech companiesWhat Europe must change to scale its best companies instead of watching them industrialize elsewhereBEST QUOTES(00:20:04) “The nature of venture capital decisions is very counter to human instincts.” — Joško Bobanović(00:41:05) “Investment in a startup is like a marriage that is predetermined with a divorce at some point in time in the future.” — Joško Bobanović(00:54:25) “Nothing validates what you’re doing better than cash.” — Joško Bobanović(00:57:35) “A B team will probably destroy exceptional technology, but an A team will make a success even of average technology.” — Joško Bobanović(01:56:22) “Otherwise we become a museum. And I don’t think we want to be a museum.” — Joško BobanovićTIMESTAMPS(00:00:00) Why Venture Capital Fights Human Instinct(00:03:08) The Storm Joško Predicted but Could Not Stop(00:09:11) How the Early Internet Changed Access to Opportunity(00:16:49) If You Do Not Play, You Cannot Win(00:20:04) Why Investors Must Resist the Rescue Instinct(00:29:33) Scientists Must Learn to Decide with Partial Information(00:35:58) Can Founders Make Themselves Replaceable?(00:41:05) A Marriage with a Predetermined Divorce(00:47:45) Why Storytelling Is a Critical Deep-Tech Skill(00:52:03) Start Selling from Day One(00:57:03) Why Venture Capital Is a People Business(01:00:11) Investors Belong in the Back Seat(01:10:50) Better Decisions Require Broader Comparisons(01:18:00) When a Higher Valuation Becomes Dangerous(01:27:15) Why Every Venture Investment Needs 10× Potential(01:37:29) Deep Tech’s Missing Exit Opportunities(01:45:05) Why VCs See IPOs as a Necessary Evil(01:52:49) Europe’s Scientific Strength and Scale-Up Weakness(02:05:01) What Europe Gets Wrong About Failure(02:13:13) Get Involved Instead of Complaining from the SidelinesFollow Beginner's Mind for long-form conversations on leadership, capital, technology, and the people shaping what comes next. Ranked in the global top 10% of all podcasts, named #1 Deep Tech Podcast in 2025, and #8 Deep Tech Podcast in 2026Send us Fan Mail Join Christian Soschner for expert coaching. 50% Off - With 35+ years in deep tech, startups/scaleups, and public companies, Christian offers power video sessions. Elevate strategy, execution, and leadership. Book Now.Support the showJoin the Podcast Newsletter: Link