Let's not lose Paul Jozefak, one of Europe's best VCs


I’m late to this news, but it is worth logging that one of Europe’s better VCs, Paul Jozefak (@pjozefak) last month parted ways with his firm Neuhaus Partners in Hamburg. I’ve known Paul for a few years now, but I’ve always found him to be one of the best European VCs: a straight talker, quick to respond and combative – in a good way. Consider his most recent guest post about the prospects for European venture capital.

But I could almost have seen it coming. Neuhaus got to punch above its weight because of Paul, and one often felt he was straining at the leash to try and win deals like SoundCloud, which he’ll quite happily tell you he didn’t get!

But now it’s divorce:

We are going to stay in touch after the “divorce”. I won’t be seeing the kids (our portfolio companies) as much but there will be weekends. I have visitation rights (I am still an investor in the fund) and I do get some alimony (carry). I don’t have anything to announce yet as to where I will land but stay tuned. I am dating!

Well, anyone needing some solid investor experience would do well to call Paul. We need guys like him in Europe and I’m hoping he’s considering moving from Hamburg to Berlin to help the scene there really get motoring. If there’s one missing piece of the pie in Berlin it’s more experienced people from the investment community.