Andrei Brasoveanu, Partner @ Accel on pattern recognition and backing Europe's next unicorns

Happy Wednesday from James Pringle, Hector Mason and the Riding Unicorns team! Riding Unicorns is back with Season 9!

From international math olympiads to high-frequency trading to leading deals at Accel, Andrei Brasoveanu has carved one of the most impressive careers in European tech. After a decade on Wall Street as a quant, he joined Accel’s London office and quickly became one of their top investors—backing breakout companies like Celonis and, more recently, Polar.

In this episode, we explore the mindset, methods, and milestones behind his success.

What You’ll Learn:

• 🧠 “Founders are the constant” — Why Andrei trusts people over metrics when chasing outliers

• 💶 The Celonis origin story — How a €100k pricing bet helped three inexperienced founders build a global leader

• 🌍 Accel’s European edge — Why they focus on non-obvious founders across Europe and Israel

• 🔁 The art of pattern recognition — Tactical advice for young VCs on fast-tracking their investment instincts

• ⚙️ No-code and AI — Why technical founders may have more of an edge than ever

• 🧊 Inside the Polar deal — How Andrei convinced a former Shopify exec to raise a round he didn’t plan to

• 🧩 Strategic angel orchestration — Why top VCs pull unicorn operators into early rounds (hint: it's not just for PR)

• 🔐 His future unicorn pick — A cybersecurity company from an unexpected European hub building with open-source DNA

This episode is a masterclass in European venture strategy. Whether you’re an investor, a founder, or just obsessed with how unicorns get made, this one will shift your perspective.

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Have a great Wednesday,

The Riding Unicorns team