What VCs Get Wrong About Building Durable Startups with Tim Levene

24/06/2025 56 min Temporada 4 Episodio 6
What VCs Get Wrong About Building Durable Startups with Tim Levene

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Episode Synopsis

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we sit down with Tim Levene, CEO of Augmentum Fintech, the UK’s only publicly listed fintech venture capital firm.From going public to backing infrastructure instead of hype, Tim shares what permanent capital allows that traditional VC structures don’t and why he believes the next decade of fintech will be won with discipline, not just disruption.What we cover:🛋️ Why Augmentum chose public markets over LP cycles🛋️ The real story behind growth-at-all-costs and its fallout🛋️ Why the GCC is becoming central to Augmentum’s investment strategy🛋️ What it takes to stay relevant when the hype fades🎧 Now streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.Couchonomics with Arjun Season 04 is brought to you by our partners:Adyen https://www.adyen.com/Thunes https://thunes.com/Mastercard https://mastercard.com/E& https://www.eand.com/Digit9 https://www.digitnine.com/SC Ventures https://scventures.io/Hala https://hala.com/Find us on our social media platforms:Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/Couchonomics LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomicsSubscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6EChapters:00:00 – Episode Highlights02:45 – Why Augmentum chose to go public06:10 – Permanent capital vs traditional VC fundraising10:25 – What LPs and public shareholders want in today’s market13:55 – How Augmentum balances patient capital with fintech agility17:20 – The post-2021 correction: resetting the fintech ecosystem21:40 – Fintech infrastructure or B2C buzz: where the real value is now25:00 – Operator-led investing and what it means for founders29:15 – What makes a good VC-founder relationship33:40 – Augmentum’s evolving interest in the Middle East37:00 – Dubai and GCC as emerging fintech investment hubs41:30 – Tim’s take on profitability vs scale in VC45:05 – Outlook for fintech in the next 3–5 years48:50 – Closing reflections and final takeawaysOur website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0Find us on our social media platforms: Arjun's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunvirsingh/ CCN LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/couchonomics-with-arjun-singh/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/couchonomics/ Twitter https://twitter.com/Arjun_Vir_Singh?s=20 TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@couchonomics Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E