EUVC | E371 | Oxx's Mikael Johnsson on how to make a company stand out in a competitive market

EUVC

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, Andreas discusses with Mikael Johnsson, co-founder and General Partner of Oxx.
Andreas and Mikael discuss the key strategies and insights that have shaped Oxx as a leading player in the European B2B SaaS investment landscape. Mikael shares his extensive 24-year journey in venture capital, highlighting the evolution of his investment philosophy and the experiences that have driven Oxx’s unique approach to backing scale-up stage companies.
Oxx’s second fund, totaling $190M, underscores the firm’s commitment to supporting B2B SaaS innovators across Europe and Israel. With a team of six in Stockholm and nine in London, Oxx maintains a pan-European reach, enabling it to stay closely connected to the pulse of regional tech ecosystems. The firm’s notable investments, including Funnel, Gravitee, and SOCRadar, exemplify Oxx’s focus on high-potential SaaS businesses with the ambition and capability to scale internationally.
Go to eu.vc for our core learnings and the full video interview 👀
Chapters:
02:35 Meet Michael Johnson of Oxx
03:04 Michael's Journey into Venture Capital
04:35 The Intellectual Curiosity of Venture Capital
05:20 Building and Growing Companies
06:11 Challenges and Stubbornness in Venture
07:31 Pivotal Moments and Lessons Learned
09:47 Oxx's Investment Strategy
13:49 The Importance of Product-Market Fit
19:07 The State of Early Stage and Growth Stage VC in Europe
26:00 Challenges in Scaling Venture Firms
26:44 Optimism in European Venture Ecosystem 2
7:30 Importance of Positioning for Startups
28:43 Building a Scalable Company
29:49 Common Mistakes by Founders
30:59 Evaluating Companies for Investment
32:11 The Role of Hustle and Strategy
36:29 Issues in the Venture Capital Industry
49:12 Final Thoughts and Learnings: