Students and Faculty

Venture Capital Bootcamp

Students working in a group

56%

Women

51

Nationalities represented

50% 

Student nationalities outside of Europe

22

Average age

48%

Post-bachelor's level

28%

Non-business background

(not Business, Management, Finance or Economics)

*Total Summer School 2025 Profiles

Some Students' Home Academic Institutions in 2025

  • University of Sydney, Australia
  • Vienna University, Austria
  • McGill University, Canada
  • University of British Columbia, Canada
  • FUDAN University, China
  • Tsinghua University, China,
  • Shanghai University, China
  • Copenhagen B. School, Denmark
  • Sciences Po Paris, France
  • TUM Munich, Germany
  • University of Mannheim, Germany
  • HKUST, Hong Kong
  • Ashoka University, India
  • IITB Bombay, India
  • Bocconi University, Italy
  • LUISS Business School, Italy
  • University of Tokyo, Japan
  • ITAM, Mexico
  • RSM, Rotterdam, Netherlands
  • NUS, Singapore
  • ESADE, Spain
  • IE Business School, Spain
  • University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
  • Glion Inst. of Higher Ed., Switzerland
  • University of California, Berkeley, USA
  • Georgetown University, USA
  • New York University, USA
  • Imperial College London, UK
  • LSE, UK
  • Warwick B. School, UK
  • UCL London, UK
  • University of Cambridge, UK 

Academic Team

 

Maxime Paradis and Ieva Gaigala - Co-Academic Directors

 

Maxime Paradis, Co-Academic Director

 

Ieva Gaigala, Co-Academic Director 

Ieva Gaigala 

Ieva Gaigala is a serial entrepreneur and community expert.

She is the co-founder of Paradise Group and the European Tech Sovereignty Summit, organized yearly at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, under the High Patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron. 

Recognized in the top community builders to follow in 2025, she has been implementing community strategies for VC funds, scaleups like Notion and institutions like Bpifrance. 

She teaches entrepreneurship, investment and personal development, and regularly speaks at major international technology conferences. 
 

 

Maxime Paradis

Maxime Paradis is a serial entrepreneur and early-stage investor.

He is the Co-Founder of Paradise Group and the European Tech Sovereignty Summit, the Founder of Paradise Club, one of Europe’s largest angel investment syndicates, and the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of United Founders, a €80M pan-European venture capital fund supported by leading founders and operators.

He is a featured author for the World Economic Forum and serves as an expert on Technology for the European Commission, contributing to policy discussions on Europe’s innovation and competitiveness.

Recognized in Forbes 30 Under 30, he has built and supported companies collectively valued at several billions. He teaches Entrepreneurial Finance and regularly speaks at major international technology conferences, including VivaTech, Web Summit, CES, and Slush.