European venture capital investors have had a blockbuster year, thanks to successes such as Spotify, Dutch payment firm Adyen, fashion firm Farfetch, and many others that went public or sold. Business Insider has listed some of the continent's star VCs, who are well-respected by founders and peers and won big from smart early bets on firms that floated or were acquired. Click here for more BI Prime stories. There is more money sloshing around Europe for tech startup founders than ever before — a sign of a strong and growing ecosystem (or a bubble, depending on your pessimism levels).