From $0 to $55M without VC: Max Buchan
When Max Buchan left CoinShares after helping grow it from $0 to $50M in revenue, he didn’t build another crypto company; he built Valarian, a $20M-funded dual-use startup powering Europe’s digital sovereignty revolution.
In this episode, Max breaks down how he attracted investors like IQ Capital, Molten Ventures, and Palantir alumni, how Europe’s geopolitical landscape is shifting the defense tech market, and why founders should think long-term about category creation, not just traction metrics.
👉 Watch the episode to learn how Valarian is redefining defense infrastructure — and what it takes to raise eight figures before launch.
Here’s what you’re in for:
- 00:00 – How CoinShares hit $50M revenue with no VC
- 03:30 – The problem that sparked Valarian: cross-border data control
- 06:00 – Pivoting from secure messaging to compliance infrastructure
- 08:30 – Raising $11M pre-product and landing IQ Capital & Molten Ventures
- 10:20 – Expanding to $20M total seed and U.S. strategic backers
- 13:40 – How defense tech funding evolved post-Ukraine
- 16:00 – Defining product-market fit for dual-use infrastructure
- 18:00 – Recruiting Palantir and Darktrace execs to Valarian
- 23:30 – Why the UK talent system lags behind the U.S.
- 32:00 – Operating in stealth: why Valarian waited to go public
- 35:30 – The hardware Pelican Case: Valarian’s deployable defense tech
- 37:00 – Consolidation and M&A in Europe’s defense tech ecosystem
- 39:00 – Advice for founders building category-defining companies
ABOUT Max Buchan
Max Buchan is the founder and CEO of Valarian, a UK-based defense and compliance infrastructure company powering the next era of digital sovereignty. Before Valarian, he helped scale CoinShares from $0 to $50M revenue without venture capital, ultimately taking the company public.
Valarian has raised over $20M to build ACRA — a secure, sovereign infrastructure layer for enterprises and governments — with leadership that includes Palantir veterans and Darktrace’s former CRO.
Get in touch with Max:
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