Akhil Menon

Akhil MenonJul 9, 2026

Attended the launch of BRDG3 Capital ’s €200M Nexus Fund I earlier this week, and it reinforced something I’ve been thinking about for a while. The UK–CEE corridor is becoming one of the most interesting venture stories in Europe. The UK brings institutional capital, global networks and a mature venture ecosystem. CEE brings world-class engineering talent, ambitious founders and exceptional technical depth, yet remains significantly undercapitalised compared to Western Europe. We’re starting to see more investors, operators and founders treating these regions as one connected ecosystem rather than separate markets. Having spent the last couple of years working across both ecosystems, I believe the real opportunity isn’t just investing across borders. It’s building companies, partnerships and communities that are cross-border by design. The next generation of European success stories may not come from a single city or country. They’ll come from bridges.

Akhil MenonJun 23, 2026

That’s me with WhatsApp’s new global CEO, Kunal Shah 😃 And yes, this photo is from 2021. I’ve been fortunate to know Kunal since around 2014, crossing paths many times over the years. Separately, I also had the opportunity to interview him during his FreeCharge days for Empirics What makes this moment special isn’t the title. It’s the journey behind it. No fancy university degree. No conventional playbook. Just years of building, learning, experimenting, and creating from India. Today, he’s leading one of the world’s most important communication platforms. At the same time, CRED is valued at over $4.5 billion, with Meta investing roughly $900 million into the company. What many of us have always admired about Kunal is his ability to make us think differently. Through his ideas and insights, he’s influenced a generation of founders to challenge assumptions and look at problems through a different lens. For founders, there’s a simple lesson: The world increasingly rewards people who build. From building startups in India to leading products used by billions globally what a remarkable journey. Couldn’t be happier to see it. 🚀👏 (Also, does this mean we now have a direct line to customer support? 😎😂) #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Leadership #WhatsApp #CRED

Akhil MenonJul 10, 2026

Private markets, founder matchmaking, VC pitches, and catching up with old friends while making a few new ones. A pretty good way to spend an evening at Level39 One takeaway stuck with me. Europe doesn’t have a startup problem. It has a conviction problem. The talent is here. The ambition is here. What we need is more bold capital, stronger conviction, and an ecosystem that helps founders scale, not just survive. One of the highlights was Syrena flipping the traditional VC pitch. Instead of founders pitching investors, 6 VCs pitched the founders, sharing their investment thesis, the startups they back, and the value they bring beyond capital. Syrena’s AI then matched each investor with the most relevant startups in the room. Less networking roulette. More meaningful conversations. Private markets are still a people business. The best opportunities happen when the right founders, investors, operators, and advisors meet at the right time. The future of venture won’t be defined by who has the biggest network. It will be defined by who can build the right connections at the right time.