Explore how Headline VC evolved from two curious Germans flying to California in 1998 to investigate the 'wild concept' of venture capital into a global powerhouse that's weathered multiple tech cycles.

The best investments often come from spotting fundamental shifts in how people behave, not just cool technology. It’s about identifying when technology enables a completely new relationship between consumers and services.
Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco
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Cree par des anciens de Columbia University a San Francisco

Nia: Hey everyone! Welcome to another episode of Venture Insights. I'm Nia, and I'm joined by my friend and co-host Jackson. Today we're diving into the fascinating story of Headline VC, a firm with quite the journey.
Jackson: Great to be here, Nia! And you know what's wild about Headline? They've actually been around since 1998, which in venture capital years is practically ancient history.
Nia: Wait, 1998? That means they've been through multiple tech cycles, right? The dot-com bubble, the 2008 crash, the pandemic...
Jackson: Exactly! And here's something I found fascinating – they started when two German guys, Mathias Schilling and Thomas Gieselmann, literally flew to California to "scratch an itch" about this weird thing called venture capital.
Nia: I love that origin story! They were just curious about how VC worked?
Jackson: Yeah, they were in their 20s working at AOL in Germany and were intrigued by this concept of "giving money to young people who didn't have assets or co-signers" just for a share in a company. They thought it was such a wild concept that they had to explore it.
Nia: That's amazing. And now they've grown into this global powerhouse with offices in seven cities around the world and just raised an $865 million growth fund. Let's explore how this German curiosity transformed into one of the most interesting global venture firms in the business.