Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast | Listen Free on Castbox.

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Why has Kry laid off 300 more employees?

2022-11-0328:14

This week we discuss:00:53 Kry lays off 300 employees03:52 Monzo staff unionise07:33 Flying taxi startup raises $30009:53 Robots in demand as energy prices soar12:57 What's been going down at Web Summit?

Klarna job losses climb to 800 in 2022 as the company cuts more roles

2022-09-2229:45

This week we discuss:03:04 More layoffs at Klarna03:54 Insect cultivation startup Innovafarm raises $260m05:35 Equity management platform Ledgy raises $22m07:00 B2B payments startup Sequence gets backing from Andreessen Horowitz09:16 Glovo founder launches new VC fund as his company is fined €79m11:58 Founder of collapsed energy company Bulb joins investment firm14:10 Nato launches €1bn VC fund as "defence tech" heats up21:03 Do we really need pets in the metaverse?

Why did Snap shut down the French social app Zenly?

2022-09-0826:49

This week we discuss:1:49 Sorare lands huge NBA deal6:00 Code First Girls raises £4.5m to make coding more diverse9:40 Lightyear raises €81m to get its solar-powered car on the road11:57 Former Revolut big cheese Alan Chang’s Tesseract raises $78m for climate startup16:00 Have we finally cracked lithium ion battery recycling"?18:07 Why did Snap shut down French social app Zenly?Want to talk to Freya Pratty about climate tech? Email her at freya@sifted.eu

$\The next Tesla: could this startup birth the next era of Musk rivals?$

\The next Tesla: could this startup birth the next era of Musk rivals?

2022-07-2825:51

Please take our listener survey! You get a month's Sifted membership for free, and we'd love to learn more about our listeners:bit.ly/siftedpodcastThis week we discuss:(01:53) Germany pledges €30bn to startups in new policy roadmap(06:26) IQM Computing raises Europe's largest quantum round ever(08:24) Could this photonics startup birth the next generation of Tesla rivals(11:20) A new app promises more pay transparency for gig workers (18:24) What's it like going to an exclusive, members only crypto club?

$\Should your boss pay your energy bills?$

\Should your boss pay your energy bills?

2022-07-2120:05

Please take our listener survey! You get a month's Sifted membership for free, and we'd love to learn more about our listeners:bit.ly/siftedpodcastThis week we discuss:(02:06) Starling Bank hits profitability(05:55) Maria Raga steps down as Depop CEO(07:43) Amazon aggregators lay off staff en masse(09:55) Can augmented reality save the global manufacturing industry?(13:47) Should your boss pay your energy bills?

$\Raids and possible “cartels”: Inside the latest Glovo drama$

\Raids and possible “cartels”: Inside the latest Glovo drama

2022-07-1421:44

This week we discuss:(2:59) Take our listener survey for a month of free membership!(03:05) Klarna’s valuation was slashed to $6.7bn(6:15) The latest in big layoffs: Hopin has let go 29% of its workforce this month and Babylon is planning on cutting 100 jobs(9:15) Glovo is raided by the European Commission amid concerns the company may have operated in a “cartel”(16:48) Pollen is being accused of missing payroll and not refunding customers

$\Gorillas’ latest scandal — will their riders ever get paid?$

\Gorillas’ latest scandal — will their riders ever get paid?

2022-07-0728:02

This week we discuss:(02:38) Two new climate tech funds, Climentum and AENU, launch(06:29) Quantum-as-a-service startup Oxford Quantum Circuits raises £38m(07:46) More than 100 Gorillas riders lose their jobs, with many saying they haven't been paid(11:50) What's it like to launch a business with your sibling?(17:29) Glastonbury and a festival in the metaverse, compared

$\The EU's big new plan for tech innovation$

\The EU's big new plan for tech innovation

2022-06-3027:23

This week we discuss:2:24 Crypto winter and Bitpanda layoffs4:17 Hiring tech startup Screenloop raises $7m5:43 Wise and Songkick founders launch new VC fund8:48 Christian Tooley from i³ investing on why you need to queer your dealflow19:09 The EU has a new plan to supercharge European innovation

$\Can N26 be trusted? A rare interview with the founder$

\Can N26 be trusted? A rare interview with the founder

2022-06-1726:001

On this week's show:03:22 — SoftBank backs Proximie in $80m round for AR surgery06:00 — Epoch Biodesign has raised $11m to grow its plastic-eating enzymes tech09:38 — What's going on in European tech hiring?11:32 — Fintech reporter Amy O'Brien discusses a rare interview with N26 CEO Valentin Stalf15:46 — Nathan Benaich talks about his research into why European universities aren't producing top tech companies at the same rate as the USLinks:https://sifted.eu/articles/proximie-softbank-80m-surgery/https://sifted.eu/articles/epoch-biodesign-enzyme-plastic-waste/https://sifted.eu/articles/uk-tech-job-listings-down/https://sifted.eu/articles/n26-culture-fraud-valentin-stalf/https://sifted.eu/articles/university-spinout-startups/

$\Will Gorillas survive this week’s C-suite exodus?$

\Will Gorillas survive this week’s C-suite exodus?

2022-06-0924:50

Amy is joined this week by our producer, Tim! First up, we’re chatting about big raises in crypto and the EU’s Ukrainian relief fund. Berlin correspondent Miriam Partington joins us to tell all about speedy grocery company Gorillas’ very rough week. Next, we discuss the founders trying to improve treatments for women’s health issues, from sustainable menstrual cups to 3D-printed breast implants for breast cancer survivors. The articles we discuss:https://sifted.eu/articles/crypto-payments-startup-fung-regulation/https://sifted.eu/articles/web2-web3-fintech/https://sifted.eu/articles/felix-capital-600m-fund/https://sifted.eu/articles/eu-fund-ukrainian-startups/https://sifted.eu/articles/gorillas-hr-executives-layoffs/https://sifted.eu/articles/femtechs-france-healthcare/

$S2 E14 \Customer scandal surrounds elite event company Pollen$

S2 E14 \Customer scandal surrounds elite event company Pollen

2022-06-0224:29

This week on the show we’re talking to Freya Pratty about her joint investigation with Éanna Kelly into Pollen, an elite events company with heavy investor backing. We’ll hear about its angry customers who claim they’re owed thousands, and what Pollen has to say about it. We’re also finding out what European startup employees really think of their “ill equipped” bosses, and hearing about some of the continent’s top companies raking in investment this week.The stories we discuss:Florence: https://sifted.eu/articles/florence-care-startup-raise/Hoxhunt: https://sifted.eu/articles/cybersecurity-hoxhunt-raises-series-b/Foodack: https://sifted.eu/articles/foodhack-raises-1m-angellist/Britishvolt: https://sifted.eu/articles/britishvolt-scale-up-gigafactory-batteries/Pollen: https://sifted.eu/articles/pollen-refunds-events/Startup managers: https://sifted.eu/articles/startup-managers-good-bad/

$S2 E13 \Mass layoffs are here — who's been hit?$

S2 E13 \Mass layoffs are here — who's been hit?

2022-05-2618:13

Some of Europe's best known tech companies have cut thousands of staff this week, as the economic slowdown arrives on the continent.On the pod we discuss who's been hit hardest so far, how startups can best survive the storm, and what's in store for buy now, pay later startups, with credit becoming more expensive as interest rates rise.The stories we discuss:Tech company layoffs in Europe 2022: listed https://bit.ly/3sYnsSqThe European startups still hiring despite the tech downturn https://bit.ly/3MVpWJAGrocery delivery startup Zapp in talks to lay off 10% of its staff https://bit.ly/3yXAG5WBurn rate & layoffs: Is grocery delivery startup Gorillas struggling? https://bit.ly/3lK6NyfKlarna lays off 10% of its team amid valuation crunch https://bit.ly/3wRxwOnCan Klarna and its rivals survive an economic downturn? https://bit.ly/38PiXmoHow to prepare for a downturn https://bit.ly/3PGBClfStartup Life newsletter https://bit.ly/3a0Zcsx

$S2 E12 \The billionaire betting big on psychedelics$

S2 E12 \The billionaire betting big on psychedelics

2022-05-1925:181

It’s our first real, live billionaire guest… Christian Angermayer, founder of ATAI Life Sciences, a startup that seeks to treat mental health disorders with psychedelics. But first, hear all about the four Polish grandpas who founded a quantum science startup because "retirement is boring”. We also called Miriam Partington, our Berlin correspondent, on a new movement coming out of Germany, called steward ownership, that promises startups an alternative to giving over equity and control of their company.

$S2 E10 \Wise, Bolt and Skype: How Estonia churns out unicorns$

S2 E10 \Wise, Bolt and Skype: How Estonia churns out unicorns

2022-05-0522:25

We're live from Estonia! The Sifted Podcast recorded an extra special episode in front of an audience at our Sifted Sessions \Tallinn. This week we're talking about how a tiny country in the Baltics created global companies like Skype and Wise. Joining Amy on stage were Sifted reporter Anisah Osman Britton, Kaidi Ruusalepp, president of the Estonian Founders Society, and Triin Hertmann, founder of sustainable investment platform Grünfin.

$S2 E9 \The fintech targeting… seafarers?$

S2 E9 \The fintech targeting… seafarers?

2022-04-2826:32

This week, Amy calls in from Riga, and tells us about the Latvian startups she’s met at TechChill — turns out wind-turbine-fixing robots are big business! We discuss the latest in startup news, including the ‘world’s largest’ facility opening for cow-free milk and on-demand tailoring app Sojo raising £. After that, we talk to fintech reporter Amy O’Brien about the latest wave of fintechs targeting underserved communities, including migrants, international workers and… seafarers! Finally, Amy (Lewin — not O'Brien) interviews Nord Security cofounder and co-CEO Tom Okman about their recent mammoth $100m raise.

$S2 E8 \VC horror stories$

S2 E8 \VC horror stories

2022-04-2124:56

Amy’s away this week, so Eleanor is joined by guest host and Sifted writer, Éanna Kelly! We’re discussing the juicy investment news of the week, including new funds for university spinouts and Spanish deeptech. Next, we’re talking to our boss, John Thornhill, about what it’s like to be an older entrepreneur. Not that he’s old, of course… and finally, we chat with journalist Kai Nicol-Schwarz about VC horror stories and secondhand fashion marketplaces.

$S2 E7 \The NFT bros losing thousands on ape scams$

S2 E7 \The NFT bros losing thousands on ape scams

2022-04-1421:41

“I’d say probably 70% of NFT people are out to scam”… but how do the heists work? This week, we’re talking to writer Eanna Kelly on the wacky world of NFT scams. We’re also speaking to Germany correspondent Miriam Partington about diversifying the investment landscape, and the hot new German tech startups everyone wants to work for.

$S2 EP6 \The metaverse sector actually making money$

S2 EP6 \The metaverse sector actually making money

2022-04-0723:491

This week, we’re back and talking to reporter Freya Pratty about all things Co2, from carbon capture to accounting. We ask: is it really possible to clean up our air with machines? We’re also talking to Maija Palmer about a dark horse metaverse application that’s got VCs flinging open their wallets. Finally, we’re discussing the most important meal of the day: lab-grown breakfasts of the future.

$S2 EP5 \Claims of toxicity at Glovo: How ‘good vibes’ turned into a ‘nightmare’$

S2 EP5 \Claims of toxicity at Glovo: How ‘good vibes’ turned into a ‘nightmare’

2022-03-3130:09

This week, in Eleanor's absence, we were joined by a special guest host… journalist-turned-Zapp VP of Strategy, Steve O’Hear! We discuss The Family, France’s most famous incubator whose cofounder has been accused of embezzlement. We also chat to journalist Tim Smith about his reporting on the toxic workplace allegations made against delivery startup Glovo. Finally, we’re discussing journalists’ relationships with tech companies — and one very explosive tweet that started the conversation.

$S2 EP4 \Is speedy delivery startup Getir really worth $11.8bn?$

S2 EP4 \Is speedy delivery startup Getir really worth $11.8bn?

2022-03-2421:091

This week, we’re talking about Getir, the speedy delivery company which has raised a massive $768m Series E round at a $11.8bn valuation. We ask, is the company really worth all that cash? We’re also speaking to reporter Mimi Billing about social shopping — or shopping-turned-social game — and the Finnish startup trying to bring the Chinese craze to Europe. Finally, we’re discussing our latest coverage on the war in Ukraine, including how Russian founders are reacting.

#box-pro-ellipsis-171413941253899{-webkit-line-clamp:2;}Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

Eanna Kelly

Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast