Where the Money Is Really Going: Inside today's investment landscape for scaling tech companies

Date: 5 November 2026

‍Time: 08:30 - 11:00 GMT

Venue: The Italian Greyhound, 62 Seymour St, London W1H 5BN, UK

‍Speakers:
Dan Walker, Partner, FPE Capital
Evgenia Plotnikova, General Partner, Dawn Capital

Sponsor: FPE Capital

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Every headline suggests the biggest AI companies have absorbed all the available capital. But beyond the billion-euro funding rounds, investors continue to back ambitious software businesses at scale, and the opportunities are far broader than the headlines suggest.

At this intimate breakfast event in London, we'll bring together founders, CEOs and investors for an honest, off-the-record conversation about today's investment landscape. Bringing together a private equity investor and a venture capitalist, we'll explore how investors are really thinking, where capital is flowing, and what makes a software business stand out in today's market.

Whether you're considering raising investment, planning for long-term growth, or want to better understand how your business is viewed by investors, this session will provide practical insight into the decisions shaping Europe's next generation of software companies.

In a candid panel discussion, our speakers will explore:

• Where capital is really flowing: looking beyond the headlines to understand which software businesses are attracting investment, and why.
• Different paths to growth: how venture capital and private equity differ, what each model offers, and how founders can determine which route best aligns with their ambitions.
• What drives value today: the qualities, metrics and strategic decisions that influence valuations, investment decisions and long-term growth potential.
• Lessons from experience: hearing directly from founders who have navigated different funding journeys, sharing what worked, what they would do differently, and the realities of partnering with investors.

Held under Chatham House Rules, this is a rare opportunity to ask the questions you wouldn't normally ask the people writing the cheques, hear candid perspectives from both investors and founders, and leave with a clearer understanding of what smart capital looks like in today's market.

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About Our Speakers

Dan Walker, Partner, FPE Capital

Dan's responsibilities at FPE include origination and execution of new investments and portfolio management across the FPE funds. Dan has nearly 20-years experience in the investment management and banking industry and prior to joining FPE, he worked in the acquisition & leveraged finance teams at Royal Bank of Scotland and Singer & Friedlander. During this period, Dan has invested in and supported the growth of a wide range of small-mid size UK-headquartered businesses with a focus on B2B software, financial technology and wider business services. Dan has a first class honours degree in History & Politics from the University of Leeds and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

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Evgenia Plotnikova, General Partner, Dawn Capital

Evgenia leads Dawn Capital's SaaS deals, from early stage to pre-IPO, and manages founder, VC and investor relationships across Europe and Israel. She has a particular love for data, automation and cloud infrastructure, having led our investments in BRYTER, Dataiku, Harbr, FlowX, Granulate, Soldo and Firebolt amongst others. Before joining Dawn, Evgenia was a VC at Atomico, spearheading its entry into France, and an investor at TPG Capital, having started her career at JP Morgan. She holds a master’s degree in finance from SciencesPo Paris and studied at the Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania), where she picked up the startup bug. As well as being the youngest woman in Europe to be internally promoted to GP, Evgenia is also a Forbes 30 Under 30 winner, a TechStars mentor and one of Business Insider’s 100 Coolest People in Tech.

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