PODCAST

Drift Signal

Nicolas Colin

From Startups to What"s Next ⛵️ www.driftsignal.com

business entrepreneurship

All Episodes

53:21

"It’s Easier to Be Born Global than to Become...

Drift Signal ·

2025/11/02

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.driftsignal.comVenture capital has always been an American game played with American rules. Silicon Valley sets the terms, defines success, and draws the world’s best entrepreneurs into its orbit like a gravitational force. For European founders, this creates an existential question: do you stay local and risk irrelevance, or go global and risk losing everything that made you unique?Martin Mignot understands this tension better than

58:26

“Apple's Dependence on China Is Hard to Overstate”:...

Drift Signal ·

2025/08/31

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.driftsignal.comManufacturing has become the defining battleground of 21st-century economic competition. China's transformation from assembly hub to advanced manufacturing superpower didn't happen by accident; it emerged from strategic choices about industrial policy, workforce development, and the patient accumulation of process knowledge that Western economies largely abandoned in their rush toward financialisation.Patrick McGee's

64:49

“China and America: The Error Bounds Are Larger Than...

Drift Signal ·

2025/05/21

🇨🇳 After publishing my in-depth piece on advanced manufacturing in China, I was struck by the volume and intensity of feedback it generated. The numerous interactions and follow-on discussions made it clear that China, once again, emerged as a subject I needed to explore much more deeply.As is often the case when I embark on such a learning journey, one of my go-to sources is Jordan Schneider's newsletter and podcast ChinaTalk, which I've been following for many years.* Jordan's work stands out

54:04

Exponential w/ Azeem Azhar. French Tech. Thumbs...

Drift Signal ·

2021/09/29

The Agenda 👇* The Building Bridges podcast: a conversation with Azeem Azhar on his book Exponential 🎧* My latest Sifted column about French startups raising money like never before* Thumbs up/down for the last weeks* A list of recently unlocked essays from the archive📓 What a journey! My first encounter with Azeem Azhar, writer of the Exponential View newsletter and author of the recently published eponymous book Exponential, happened on Twitter a few years back, right after I had settled in

56:54

Cycling in European Cities. Readings on Urban...

Drift Signal ·

2021/09/22

The Agenda 👇* Chris Bruntlett talks about cycling in cities in the latest episode of the Building Bridges podcast* A complementary reading list on the future of urban transportation* Thumbs up/down for last week, and a few unlocked articles from the archiveHere’s my investment thesis in a few bullet points:* we long thought that the only playbook to build tech companies was that of Silicon Valley;* but then China opened our eyes to the existence of a very different playbook;* since these two

65:08

Everything Formula 1 w/ Toni Cowan-Brown. Thumbs...

Drift Signal ·

2021/07/14

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with Toni Cowan-Brown about everything that’s changing in F1 🎧* Thumbs up/down for last weekI’m very happy to publish what will be the last episode of the Building Bridges podcast this season: a wide-ranging conversation with Toni Cowan-Brown about the fascinating world of Formula 1 🎧Toni is the first repeat guest on Building Bridges, since Laetitia already interviewed her a few months ago about being a European in Silicon Valley. Being a Nation Builder alumnus, Toni’s main

63:05

The Future of Work w/ Roy Bahat. VC Firms Going...

Drift Signal ·

2021/07/07

The Agenda 👇* Laetitia spoke with Bloomberg Beta’s Roy Bahat about everything future of work 🎧* My latest column in Sifted is about publicly traded VC firms in Europe* Thumbs up/down for last week* Recently unlocked essays from the European Straits archiveFor the latest episode of the Building Bridges podcast, Laetitia interviewed our friend Roy Bahat, an SF-based venture capitalist with Bloomberg Beta and an inspiring leader on the future of work. Here’s what she wrote about their

54:38

The State of the World w/ Nils Gilman. Thumbs...

Drift Signal ·

2021/06/30

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with Nils Gilman of the Berggruen Institute about intellectual history and the state of the world 🎧* Thumbs up/down for last week* Thread of the week: about productivity and work-life balance* A new essay by Younès Rharbaoui about “time-variant business models”For the latest episode of the Building Bridges podcast, I interviewedNils Gilman, who leads the research program at the Berggruen Institute, a think tank based in Los Angeles and Beijing.Nils and I met in February of

62:28

Empathy at Work w/ Sophie Wade. Upcoming Long Read on...

Drift Signal ·

2021/06/16

The Agenda 👇* Laetitia spoke with author and speaker Sophie Wade about everything future of work 🎧* A new “Long Read” format: first up on the list is Formula 1 🏎 (in progress)* Thumbs up/down for last week, as well as recent news.For the latest episode of the Building Bridges podcast, Laetitia interviewedSophie Wade, a speaker, writer (and podcaster) about the future of work, who is the author of the bookEmbracing Progress: Next Steps for the Future of Work. Here’s what Laetitia wrote on the

41:59

The New Palo Alto w/ Saul Klein. Grocery Delivery...

Drift Signal ·

2021/06/09

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with investor Saul Klein about European tech and the New Palo Alto 🎧* My latest column in Sifted is about the capital deployed in grocery delivery startups* Thumbs up/down for last week, as well as recent news.I’ve been connected to Saul Klein for quite some time, because he was a partner at Index Ventures when the VC firm invested in my firm The Family in 2013. But I really got to know him after I moved to London in 2015. His name simply kept coming up as the person I should

58:40

Cosmopolitanism w/ Simon Kuper. Thumbs Up/Down for...

Drift Signal ·

2021/06/02

The Agenda 👇* Laetitia spoke with author and Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper about what cosmopolitanism means these days 🎧* Thumbs up/down for last week, as well as recent news.* All in all, this week’s a short one 😉My first memory of Simon Kuper is a column he wrote in November 2013 in The Financial Times about The great middle-class identity crisis. It made a deep impression on me, as we had just started The Family in Paris. The structural shifts impacting the middle class that Simon had

41:04

China’s Industry Policy w/ Emily de La Bruyère. Tiger...

Drift Signal ·

2021/05/26

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with Emily de La Bruyère about industrial policy in China—and how it’s a challenge for the West 🎧* My Sifted column this week is about Tiger Global and the many deals they’re doing in Europe these days* Thumbs up/down for last week, as well as recent news.I first discovered Emily de La Bruyère, a US-based analyst focused on industrial policy in China, through Jordan Schneider’s ChinaTalk podcast. What she had to share was so enlightening I even dedicated an entire edition to

74:55

How Innovation Works w/ Anton Howes. Diffracted VC....

Drift Signal ·

2021/05/19

The Agenda 👇* Laetitia spoke with historian Anton Howes about innovation and the Royal Society of Arts 🎧* My essay published last week about the categories of ‘Diffracted Venture Capital’* A Twitter thread lamenting politicians botching the vaccination campaigns* Thumbs up/down for last week: female VC partners, university spinouts, the Paris ecosystem* Five of my tips about how you can become more productiveThere are a few institutions in London that no one interested in innovation can afford to

60:14

Technology & Finance w/ Byrne Hobart. Universities....

Drift Signal ·

2021/05/12

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with The Diff’s Byrne Hobart about basically everything 🎧* My latest Sifted column is about university spinouts—and Europe lagging behind* Yahoo is slowly disappearing from sight. I wrote a new episode in my ‘11 Notes’ series* As software eats the world, founders have to tackle tangible stuff: a few ideas on the matter* Do you think journalists depict tech as the bad guy? What if we have the context to blame?Today’s episode of Building Bridges is my conversation with Byrne

53:00

Economic Insecurity w/ Deborah Copaken. Productive...

Drift Signal ·

2021/05/05

The Agenda 👇* My wife Laetitia spoke with author Deborah Copaken about healthcare in America 🎧* Fragmentation has long been a downside for Europe. Can it make us more productive?* There’s a lot to learn from institutional investors and how they allocate capital* There are many problems to solve before Europe can attract foreign talentToday’s episode of Building Bridges is my wife Laetitia Vitaud’s conversation with Deborah Copaken, a best-selling author and screenwriter who shared her experience

46:16

Chinese Tech w/ Lillian Li. Founder Control w/ Bill...

Drift Signal ·

2021/04/28

The Agenda 👇* I spoke with Lillian Li, writer at Chinese Characteristics, about everything Chinese tech 🎧* What if Daniel Ek buys Arsenal? My latest column in Sifted* Bill Janeway’s insights about balancing power between founders and investors* Curating a comprehensive reading list about founder control in a company* We all have something to say about the football Super League. A thread.Today’s episode ofBuilding Bridges is my conversation with Lillian Li, a former venture capitalist in Europe who

62:15

Productive Disagreements w/ Ian Leslie....

Drift Signal ·

2021/04/21

The Agenda 👇* My wife Laetitia Vitaud spoke with author Ian Leslie about conflicts and disagreements 🎧* Apply to On Deck Angels, an eight-week fellowship for top angel investors* Sharing my experience restructuring my firm The Family during the pandemic* I’ve been writing about corporate taxation in the digital economy since...forever* Everyone’s obsessed with Tiger Global. My take on a key feature of their model: velocityToday’s episode of Building Bridges is Laetitia’s conversation with Ian

44:49

Around Europe w/ Tyler Cowen. Lobbying. Startups...

Drift Signal ·

2021/04/14

The Agenda 👇* Economist and blogger Tyler Cowen on everything Europe 🎧* Founders, investors, and governments: all can contribute to upgrading regulations—in Sifted* We need to learn to solve ‘hard’ problems when building startups across borders* I’ve written so much over the years about the difficulty of crossing borders: here’s an overview* Joe Biden is about to bring the reform of corporate taxation to the finish lineToday’s episode of the Building Bridges podcast is my conversation with Tyler

59:17

Reinventing Housing w/ Diana Lind. Amazon's Politics....

Drift Signal ·

2021/04/07

The Agenda 👇* Author Diana Lind on the future of housing 🎧* Is Amazon left-wing or right-wing? Actually, it’s a bit of both* Will the gig economy get its social contract? I’ve written so much on that topic* As proven by successful vaccination campaigns, you shouldn’t centralize everythingToday’s episode of the Building Bridges podcast is a conversation between my wife Laetitia Vitaud and Diana Lind, author of the remarkable Brave New Home: Our Future in Smarter, Simpler, Happier Housing.We all

50:25

Discussing Europe (& Rabbits 🐰) w/ Noah Smith....

Drift Signal ·

2021/03/31

The Agenda 👇* Bloomberg columnist (and writer, and Twitter extraordinaire, and owner of rabbits) Noah Smith on Europe in the Entrepreneurial Age* Why investors shouldn’t shun Deliveroo, in Sifted* Software is eating the world, but can we facilitate its digestive capacities?* A business’s defensibility is what investors are most interested in* US tech companies have Delaware. But what’s Europe’s equivalent?First of all, it’s now official: my wife Laetitia Vitaud and I have decided to merge our

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