In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas talks with Carmen Alfonso Rico, a self-described VC turned angel at Cocoa Ventures. and Evan Finkel, Head of Venture Capital Investments at Integra Global Advisors. Carmen is leading the charge at Cocoa Ventures, a €15M fund headquartered in the UK and focused on backing pre-seed and seed-stage startups across Europe. Cocoa Ventures invests across sectors, emphasizing Carmen’s vision of supporting bold founders in their first institutional round. Notable investments include Speckle, Eventstore, FDM, Tilebox, Fractile from Cocoa I, and hopin, SideQuest, Hived, pre-Cocoa. At Integra Global Advisors, a venture fund with €700M in assets under management, Evan targets early-stage and emerging managers across the US, LatAm, Europe, and Israel. Notable investments include Plural, Fly, and Retail (EU). Carmen, and Evan delve into the complexities of LP-GP relationships in venture capital, emphasizing the importance of separating personal and business dynamics. They also share insights on identifying strong GPs and the importance of maintaining integrity in the venture ecosystem and discuss the complexities of management fees and carry in the venture capital landscape, emphasizing the need for alignment of incentives between GPs and LPs. Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀 Chapters: 02:10 Diving into Personal and Business Relationships 04:09 Managing LPGP Relationships  10:45 Gamesmanship in Business  15:07 Challenges of First Closings 23:57 Re-ups and Signaling in Fundraising 32:50 Handling Fund Breakups 45:30 Succession Planning in VC 46:33 Tough Decisions in Venture Capital 48:00 Assessing Emerging Managers 49:16 The Importance of Personal Brand in VC 50:30 Carmen and Cocoa: A Perfect Synergy 53:18 Management Fees and Carry: A Deep Dive 55:52 Challenges with the 2% Management Fee Model 01:03:05 The Debate on Carry Structures 01:05:12 European vs. American Waterfalls 01:11:39 Navigating LP-GP Relationships 01:29:14 Closing Thoughts and Future Topics