Alex Brunicki

Key highlights

• How Backed grew from a $30M first fund to a newly closed $100M Fund III, with top-quartile returns and 5 unicorns across 100 investments.
• The founder traits they optimize for: deep competitiveness, speed under uncertainty, and “PQ” - a founder’s magnetic pull on top talent and early believers.
• Why the biggest outcomes come from betting early on markets that look strange, overlooked, or technically impossible.
• How events became Backed's secret weapon — sourcing better deals, meeting founders earlier, and building a tight-knit community through 40+ events a year.
• What it means to run a venture firm where portfolio founders also become LPs, and why this deepens alignment across every new fund.
• The frontier-tech themes they’re betting on now: financial services, manufacturing, and biotech — all at the edge of engineering and scientific breakthroughs.
• Why Backed is expanding their US presence while keeping the core of their thesis focused on European founders.

This episode is a masterclass for early-stage founders and investors navigating fast-moving markets, deep tech, and high-ambition company building.

Tune in to learn how Backed spots founders, builds community at scale, and chooses markets long before they become obvious.

Recorded live at Slush 2025 in Helsinki.

Be sure to follow Sesamers on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X for more cool stories from the people we catch during the best Tech events!