In this episode of The Venture Capital Podcast, Jon Bradshaw and Peter Harris sit down with Costas Papaikonomou, co-founder of the $200M Una Terra Early Growth Fund, to unpack what it really takes to scale the circular economy.

Costas shares how his background in engineering, innovation consulting, and a successful exit to Accenture shaped Una Terra’s thesis: backing “drop-in” solutions that plug into existing industrial infrastructure instead of trying to rebuild the world from scratch.

They get into:
• Why packaging, waste and food ingredients are massive, underrated VC markets
• How regulation in Europe is reshaping single-use plastics and recycling
• Why Una Terra focuses on real-world unit economics first, impact second (but still runs as an Article 9 impact fund)
• Case studies: pulp-based bottle packaging, Greyparrot’s AI for waste sorting, and circular fashion brand Another Tomorrow
• Power law vs “normal distribution” returns, and why most exits will be strategic acquisitions, not unicorn IPOs

If you care about climate, industrial innovation, and non-SaaS venture opportunities, this one’s loaded.

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HQ: www.Unaterra.vc

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/una-terra-vs

Costas Book (Disruption Fallacy): www.re8el.com

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What happens when a former gaming founder takes a hard look at his marriage — and realizes the biggest problem isn’t love, it’s routine?

In this episode, we sit down with Offer (Founder & CEO of ARYA) and Phylicia Koh (General Partner at Play Ventures) to unpack how a single moment — “Babe… what happened to us?” — sparked a new category in relationship wellness.

We dive into:

• Why routine is the “final boss” in every relationship
• How game design and psychology can rebuild intimacy
• The real meaning of gamification (and why most people get it wrong)
• Why consumer apps struggle with engagement — and how free-to-play mechanics fix it
• How AI can responsibly support human connection
• The blue-ocean opportunity in taboo or overlooked markets

From a Typeform MVP that people actually paid for… to the deeper science behind staying in love, this episode blends tech, human behavior, VC insight, and real vulnerability.

Whether you’re building products, building relationships, or both — this convo hits.

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/venture-capital/id1575351789
Website: https://www.venturecapital.fm/

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@peterharris2812

How do you build long-term trust between founders and investors—and what happens when that trust meets the chaos of AI-driven commerce?
In this episode, Peter Harris and Jon Bradshaw sit down with Kimberly Shenk, founder & CEO of Novi, and Brian Rothenberg, partner at DeFi VC, to explore:

• How past working relationships shape investor–founder dynamics
• The art of saying “no” without burning bridges
• Why small brands can outrank giants in AI-powered shopping
• The death (and rebirth) of SEO in the LLM era
• Real frameworks for finding product-market fit

“Machines care more about truth; humans are easily persuaded.”
A high-signal, no-fluff conversation on the future of trust, data, and growth in the age of AI.

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venturecapitalfm/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7BQimY8NJ6cr617lqtRr7N?si=ftylo2qHQiCgmT9dfloD_g&nd=1&dlsi=7b868f1b72094351
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/venture-capital/id1575351789
Website: https://www.venturecapital.fm/

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/thevcstudent

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Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@peterharris2812