Venture Skipper by Karoly Szanto

Venture Skipper is a journey across the seas of innovation, investment, and leadership.
Hosted by Karoly Szanto, a lifelong sailor turned venture builder, this series blends storytelling, strategy, and straight talk.

Expect short, punchy reflections on navigating chaos, alongside deeper dialogues with founders, investors, and thinkers reshaping how ventures are built. Whether you’re steering your first startup or managing a fund, Venture Skipper helps you stay calm in high winds, make better course calls, and build ventures and people that thrive under pressure. Because you can’t control the wind, but you can constantly adjust your sails.

Available on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcast.

Jens Heitland 12/16/25 Jens Heitland 12/16/25

You Are Ready to Raise Money Only When You Start Moving

How to know if a startup is ready to raise money. Karoly Szanto explains why clarity comes from meeting clients and investors, not from theory. A direct guide for founders and investors who value truth, learning, and real market signals.

Jens Heitland 12/4/25 Jens Heitland 12/4/25

EP04 - Origin Story of UniPrisma: Why Co-Working Matters More Than Ever

Karoly Szanto explores how UniPrisma was created by combining venture capital insight with hands-on co-building for early-stage startups. In this episode, he shares why founders need operational support, how universities struggle with spinoffs, and why ecosystem alignment is so important.

Jens Heitland 11/27/25 Jens Heitland 11/27/25

EP03- Becoming the Chaos Coordinator: Turning Early Stage Disorder into Direction

Karoly Szanto explores how early-stage founders can turn chaos into clarity by focusing on customer pain, using scarce resources wisely, and trusting intuition. A deep dive into truth seeking, responsibility, and real venture building.

Jens Heitland 11/21/25 Jens Heitland 11/21/25

EP02-Truth, Flexibility, and the Real Test of a Founder

Karoly Szanto reveals how he evaluates founders beyond pitch decks, using deep research, presence, and truth seeking. This episode explores flexibility, shared narrative, and the partnership dynamics that decide whether a venture will thrive or fail.

Jens Heitland 11/8/25 Jens Heitland 11/8/25

EP01-Chaos to Clarity: The Journey That Led Me to Found UniPrisma

From Budapest to Libya, from national league sailor to venture builder, Karoly Szanto shares how crisis, responsibility, and the ocean shaped his way of co building founders, funds, and ecosystems with truth, structure, and courage.