E601 | Andy Budd, Seedcap: From CSS to Seedcamp: Why Design Is a Startup Superpower

EUVC

Welcome to a new episode of the EUVC Podcast, where we bring you the people and perspectives shaping European venture.

This week, Andreas sits down with Andy Budd, Venture Partner at Seedcamp, founder-turned-investor, and one of the earliest pioneers of UX design in Europe.

Andy’s journey spans two decades of building and scaling—from creating one of the UK’s first CSS-based websites to founding Clearleft, Europe’s first UX agency, to now advising founders at Seedcamp. He’s used that knowledge to write a new book all about startup growth. Something we’re sure your portfolio companies will find super useful.

In this episode, Andy unpacks why design is central—not cosmetic—to early-stage success, how product-market fit often hides behind poor UX, and what AI might (and might not) automate in a founder’s journey.

Here’s what’s covered:

• 02:00 | UX Before It Was Cool: Launching Europe’s first UX agency

• 04:00 | Mentor to Partner: The Seedcamp connection and how it evolved

• 07:30 | Design in Venture: Why UX is essential to product-market fit

• 11:00 | AI & UX: Johnny Ive, ChatGPT, and designing for mass adoption

• 15:00 | Super Users vs. Everyone Else: Where AI tools fail the average user

• 18:00 | Operator Value: What Andy brings to the Seedcamp portfolio

• 22:00 | The Growth Equation: Seven factors every founder needs to master

• 30:00 | Fundraising Is Also UX: Using growth principles to pitch better

• 33:00 | Small Is Smart: The rise of leaner, faster, better startups

• 39:00 | Can Seed-Strapping Work? Why not all winners need to be unicorns

• 43:30 | Product-Led Growth: When it works—and when it doesn’t