How Community and Communications Are Reshaping Venture Capital — with Hege Tollerud of BrightEye Ventures In this episode of The Runway, we sit down with Hege Tollerud, Head of Community and Events at Brighteye Ventures — Europe’s leading edtech VC fund. With a rich background in journalism, media, and ecosystem building from Oslo to China to London, Hege shares how VC is evolving beyond just capital to include real human connection, community, and strategic support. We dive into: Heg...

Parker Olson on the Real ROI of Podcast Guesting Parker Olson is co-founder of PodPitch, an AI-powered platform reshaping how startups and PR pros land podcast interviews. The platform has seen enormous growth and is quickly becoming the number one AI-powered tool for PR agencies. In this episode, Mauro sits down with Parker, who shares his unconventional journey and offers a masterclass in how startups can leverage podcast guesting to build trust, refine messaging, and grow their audience, e...

From Journalism to VC Comms: Frederik Barsøe on Telling Startup Stories That Stick What happens when a journalist turns PR pro and dives headfirst into the startup and VC ecosystem? In this episode, we sit down with Frederik Barsøe, PR & Comms Lead at Scale Capital, who shares his journey from Denmark’s top newsrooms to the heart of Europe’s tech scene. Still with a foot in both the media and PR worlds, Frederik, who also serves as a UK producer for TV2 Denmark, offers rare insights into ...

What does it take to build a B2B marketing function from the ground up, and make it work? What is B2B marketing, and how does effective B2B marketing look like, in 2025? In this episode, we’re joined by Julieta Varsano, a seasoned B2B marketing leader with 10+ years of experience scaling brands across startups, scaleups, and global corporates. Now heading the marketing function at Upvest, Europe’s leading investment infrastructure provider, Julieta shares her playbook for setting market...

What’s it like reporting on tech and startups from one of Europe’s most overlooked corners? In this episode, we sit down with Bojan Stojkovski, Editor-in-Chief of IT Logs and veteran journalist, to explore the Southeast European startup ecosystem—from its hidden potential to the challenges of funding, visibility, and cross-border collaboration. Bojan shares his journey from covering foreign policy to uncovering dark PR, troll farms, and underground tech worlds, and his latest role in the worl...

Veteran journalist and content consultant Nick Huber joins JJ and Mauro to demystify how startup founders should think about comms. Drawing on 25+ years writing for outlets like the Financial Times, BBC, and The Guardian, Nick shares: Why founders should relax about PR and also stop treating it as a black boxThe biggest mistakes companies make when trying to get media coverageHow journalists actually pitch their editors, and what PR pros can learn from itWhat makes a story genuinely newsworth...

🎙️ From Music Festivals to Startup Exhibitions: Ben Costantini on Building the Future of Events In this episode of the Runway Podcast, JJ and Mauro sit down with Ben Costantini, founder and CEO of Sesamers, a platform connecting various tech players around events to drive real-world traction. Ben truly is the GOAT of events, having studied them, collaborated and worked with them, as well as event attendees, presenters, exhibitors and sponsors for years. And he shows proof of that in plentiful...

How does a tiny country with no natural resources, a legacy of Soviet occupation, and just 1.3 million people become one of the most digitally advanced nations on Earth? In this episode, Mauro sits down with Joel Burke, author of Rebooting a Nation: The Incredible Rise of Estonia, E-Government and the Startup Revolution, to unpack Estonia’s remarkable transformation. Drawing from his own experience and research for the book, Joel shares his journey from Silicon Valley and Berlin to helping l...

In this Baltic special, we sit down with Anda Asere, journalist at Labs of Latvia and co-founder of business newsletter Finday.lv. Often referred to as the “godmother of Latvian startups.” Anda has been covering the Latvian startup scene since the very beginning... before “startups” was even a thing in Latvia! We dive into: How Anda’s journey from business journalism led her to startupsThe origins and mission of Labs of Latvia, and why it matters for the ecosystemThe do’s and don’ts for...

David Johnson, Country Manager and Editor at Maddyness UK (part of Maddyness, of French origin), joins the show to share his winding journey from running a bookshop to shaping one of the UK’s most influential startup media platforms. We talk about: How David’s background in literature, architecture publishing, and Libya (!) led him to startupsThe real state of the UK tech ecosystem in 2025, and how it compares to FranceComparing France and the UK when it comes to startupsWhat founders and PR ...

Vlad Andriescu, Editor-in-Chief of start-up.ro, joins Mauro in this Runway episode to unpack the evolution of Romania’s startup ecosystem, from the early days of €10K investments and hackathons... to the post-UiPath reality and the country’s cybersecurity edge. This is the perfect episode to get up to date with the Romanian startup ecosystem and learn about its history! We explore: 💡 Romania’s startup history and how UiPath changed everything 🚀 Why technical founders dominate the scene (and...

The State of Climate Tech in 2025 With Nick van Osdol In this episode, we’re joined by Nick van Osdol, writer, analyst, and founder of Keep Cool, the go-to newsletter for nearly 20,000 readers tracking what’s happening in climate tech. From mining and energy to early-stage startups, it's got you covered! Nick is also a Venture Partner at Climate Capital. We dig into what “climate tech” really means (and whether the term still makes sense), how the industry is evolving post-2024 election...

AI Regulation & Startups: Breaking Down the EU AI Act with Philip Mohr The EU AI Act. Innovation killer or necessary safeguard? In this episode, we sit down with Philip Mohr, founder of AddTrust, to break down the realities of AI compliance for startups. Philip, a seasoned entrepreneur turned AI compliance expert, explains what the EU AI Act really means for founders, who actually needs to worry, and why fears of overregulation may be overblown. We also discuss whether AI startups are rea...

🎙️ How do you build a media powerhouse and investment platform at the same time? In this episode of The Runway Podcast, we sit down with David Cruz e Silva, co-founder of EUVC, a one-of-a-kind business that combines podcasts, newsletters, events, and investments to shape the future of European venture capital. David shares the untold story of how EUVC started, from an industry insider’s frustration with the lack of transparency in venture to creating a platform that enables better access to k...

In this episode of The Runway Podcast, we sit down with Sigvards Krongorns, Associate at Verge HealthTech Fund and former co-founder of CastPrint. From building a startup that Forbes called “the future of casts” to investing in early-stage HealthTech companies, Sigvards shares his journey from founder to VC. We dive into: 🔹 Sigvards’ and CastPrint’s story 🔹 Categories and ways of looking at HealthTech 🔹 The 5 payer levels in HealthTech 🔹 The biggest challenges facing HealthTech startups in ...

In this episode of The Runway Podcast, we sit down with Dino Starčič, founder of higroup, to explore: 🔹 Starting a (software consultancy) business at a (very) young age - Dino's and higroup's story – how Dino and three friends from school built higroup 🔹 How software consultancies work – different models, collaboration styles & what clients should expect 🔹 Startups & how they should work with external software development agencies – common mistakes, red flags, and what to look for i...

🎙 Unlocking Podcast Growth with Data: A Conversation with Podder’s Christian Sorensen In this episode of The Runway Podcast, we dive into the evolving world of podcasting with Christian Sørensen, founder & CEO of Podder, the platform often called the Google Analytics for podcasts. If you’re a startup founder, marketer, or creator, this one’s for you—because just like in startups, data-driven decisions separate the winners from the rest. 🔹 How Christian and his team went from an ad m...

In this episode of The Runway Podcast, Mauro sits down with Stefano De Marzo, Senior Communications Manager at Openers PR in Berlin and former Head of News at EU Startups to talk about - you guessed it - startup PR, tech journalism and the biggest stories of 2024. Stefano shares the story of the journey from journalism in Peru, to startup and tech reporting roles across Europe, to his present PR role. An action-packed 30 minutes in which we dive into: -Stefano's story -How PR profes...

In this episode of The Runway Podcast, Julija Jegorova and Mauro Battellini return to the mics as they are joined by Andra Bagdonaitė, Partner at venture capital firm FIRSTPICK, to explore: Andra’s journey: From studying economics and politics to becoming a consultant, to making the move to VC and supporting Baltic startups. What makes a great founder (what FIRSTPICK looks for): The importance of grit, resilience, and adaptability in building successful companies. The role of a VC partner: A ...

In this episode of The Runway Podcast, Mauro sits down with Rana Rahman, founder and managing director of Raptor PR, the world’s only dedicated B2B PR agency for the global gaming industry. Rana shares his journey from tech enthusiast to PR expert, detailing the unique challenges and opportunities he’s encountered building a specialized agency in a fast-evolving sector. Together, they dive into the gaming industry’s growth, how B2B PR supports it behind the scenes, and what it takes to grow a...