Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast

Alexandre Prot, Co-founder and CEO of Qonto, a profitable French fintech unicorn, shares insights on how his company serves 500,000 small businesses across Europe. He discusses Qonto's plans to apply for a banking license and how they leverage AI to combat financial fraud. Prot reveals their strategic acquisition plans and the operational challenges involved. He also touches on the intricacies of fundraising in fintech and emphasizes the importance of celebrating team milestones. Tune in for a peek into the future of financial services!

Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Vinted, the thriving secondhand marketplace, discusses the company's exciting growth and its commitment to making secondhand the first choice for consumers. He shares insights about Vinted's expansion into logistics, payment solutions, and its new investment arm, Vinted Ventures. Thomas emphasizes the importance of continuous improvement to stay ahead of competitors and explores the evolving secondhand market, along with his vision for fostering collaboration within the industry.

Rob Lacher, founding partner at Visionaries Club, discusses the urgent need for Europe to boost its defense capabilities. He highlights how VCs can support this sector beyond merely providing capital. Lacher shares insights on innovative investment strategies in defense and the significance of building strong networks among venture funds. He also reflects on the remarkable growth of the AI startup Lovable and introduces new partner Judith Dada, emphasizing their fresh approach to venture capital and the importance of collaboration.

If you work in tech, you’ve probably heard about Lovable — the AI agent startup that's helping users make websites without writing a line of code.The company hit $50m in annual recurring revenue earlier this year — just 12 months after launching — and recently poached a team member from 20VC. Not bad for a startup most people hadn’t heard of this time last year.But how’s Lovable actually growing so fast? What’s its CEO Anton Osika really like? And is the hype justified?On this experimental 13-minute episode of the Sifted podcast, editor Amy Lewin grills Europe editor Mimi Billing on what she’s found out.

Chris Pedregal, cofounder and CEO of Granola, shares fascinating insights as the driving force behind this innovative London-based note-taking startup. He discusses Granola's impressive growth, securing a $43m Series B in just a year. The conversation highlights the app's user-focused design aimed at enhancing workplace efficiency and addresses the evolving dynamics of tech in workspaces. Pedregal reflects on his journey from Socratic to Granola, emphasizing the importance of relationships, strategic planning, and the balance between growth and team cohesion.

Dinika Mahtani is a partner at Cherry Ventures, specializing in UK investments and formerly with Uber and Barclays. She discusses the resurgence of deeptech and why Europe is becoming a budding tech hub. Dinika shares her unique journey from a general manager to an investor, revealing her strategies for making partner in just three years. She also highlights the challenges faced by European entrepreneurs and the importance of mentorship in navigating her career. Plus, she opens up about her aspirations related to supporting IVF patients globally.

On this episode of Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast, Amy sits down with Tom Leathes, CEO and cofounder of used car marketplace Motorway. The company, founded in 2017, has helped more than half a million people sell their cars, and has raised $273m from investors like Index, Iconiq, LocalGlobe and BMW i Ventures.Tom and his two cofounders have launched four startups before Motorway, with three resulting in successful exits, and one having to shut its doors. Tom and Amy discuss what he's learnt from that one failure, and what's now going right at Motorway, as the company takes on the formidable challenge of disrupting a huge and slow-changing automotive industry. This podcast is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta is the fast, frictionless way for growing companies to get compliant, stay secure, and earn and maintain the trust of vendors and customers.  Head to Vanta.com/sifted to learn more. 

Tomas Okmanas, Founder and co-CEO of Nord Security, is a powerhouse in the tech industry with over 15 million users marveling at his innovations. In this chat, he opens up about launching his new venture, Nexos.ai, geared toward simplifying AI for enterprises. He shares insights on navigating the competitive AI landscape, the importance of hands-on involvement in startups, and why Lithuania is an emerging hub for innovation. Plus, he reflects on the significance of personal connections in leadership and mental health in the entrepreneurial journey.

To kick off 2025, we're talking "business angels": the people who take big bets investing their personal wealth into startups at their earliest stages, and without whom most companies would never get off the ground.So, how do you actually become an angel investor? How much money do you need to commit? How many investments should you be making? And how can the UK and Europe lay the groundwork for a more representative next generation of investors?Amy poses these questions to Jenny Tooth, a veteran angel who's also executive chair of the UK Business Angels Association, representing over 15k investors nationwide. Jenny shares insights from her work on Innovate UK’s emerging tech steering board and her new initiative, WomenInvestEU, aimed at creating a more inclusive early-stage investment landscape.

On 2024's last episode of the Sifted Podcast, Amy is joined by an entrepreneur on a very big mission. Munich-based startup Proxima Fusion is developing a nuclear fusion reactor — a technology which many hope could help solve the climate crisis by producing clean, cheap and abundant energy that could replace a lot of fossil fuel power.But the technical challenges are considerable.Nuclear fusion reactors need to remain stable at incredibly high temperatures, while confining volatile plasma with powerful and sensitive magnets. Proxima Fusion is targeting raising a billion euros to build its technology, with support from European governments and international investors.The company’s founder Francesco Sciortino sat down to discuss how his team plans to change the world with its technology, the milestones it needs to hit, by when, and to reflect on the challenges of scaling up ambitious hardware-based deeptech companies from Europe.