Today, we have with us Stephan Heller, Founding Partner at AlphaQ Venture Capital. AQVC is an innovative, evergreen VC fund of funds focused on small VCs globally and democratizing diversified access to venture capital. Stephan is a seasoned tech entrepreneur and investor passionate about nurturing the next generation of innovative companies, developing robust platforms, and cultivating thriving ecosystems. Over the past 15 years, he has been deeply involved in the entrepreneurial landscape.  Stephan also co-founded five companies, including a leading deep-tech startup accelerator for one of the largest high-tech corporates in the world and establishing a successful and innovative VC fund of funds. Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀 Chapters: 00:13 Diving Deep into AQVC's Approach 00:35 Stefan's Unique Framework for Evaluating Funds 03:24 The Criteria for Evaluating Emerging Managers 03:38 Alignment and Uniqueness in Funds 04:14 Evaluating First-Time Funds: Challenges and Strategies 05:09 The Hustler Mentality in Venture Capital 05:59 Building a Firm with a Vision 06:37 Technical Aspects of Fund Evaluation 08:26 The Journey from First to Second Time Funds 09:03 The Role of Reference Calls in Due Diligence 10:46 Deep Dive into Track Record Validation 11:27 The Challenge of Investing in First-Time Investors 18:39 Evaluating Fund Performance and Strategy Execution 21:18 Understanding DPI Creation in Third Time Funds 24:04 Closing Thoughts and Future Plans