There aren’t many university venture funds in central and eastern Europe but that could all be about to change if Károly Szántó has his way. The COO of OUVC, the venture fund and studio set up by Óbuda University in Budapest, is working on a playbook that other institutions in the region can use to create their own venture capital funds, an interest Károly has identified at several universities.

But his ambition goes beyond just sharing his expertise with other universities, he is also working to bring funds from Western European universities in as co-investors.

Today on the podcast, we’re heading to Hungary to find out how the ecosystem functions today, what’s still missing, and why OUVC is about to split it into two separate entities.

We also talk about Károly’s own storied life, which includes work in 50 countries, finding his passion for university venturing when he first helped startups for a CVC, and what sailing across the Atlantic in 23 days taught him about startups.