Good and bad startup marketing, best startups at Web Summit, best European countries to start a company.
#7th edition of what has happened in Europe.
This is the seventh edition of Sunday CET, a weekly curation of what we found interesting in the European investment tech landscape.
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1. More money in the market
2. How others are doing it
3. Interesting bets
4. Data, research, observations
5. What others think
1. More money in the market
🇩🇰 Silicon Valley Bank budgeted a minimum of about $200 million to lend to Danish technology companies.
🇨🇭 Wingman Ventures closed a $60 million tech seed fund for backing Swiss startups.
🇫🇮 Helen Ventures announced €50 million for investment in growth companies disrupting the energy industry from Finland.
🇪🇪 Change Ventures closed €30M for Fund II, to back founders from the Baltics at pre-seed & seed stage.
2. How others are doing it
🇩🇪 Is this good marketing?
It is not.
Raising risk capital is just a marginal tactic that may or may not be used when building a company.
While it is a VERY time and resource-intensive process, that takes away entirely the focus from building a business, raising money has little to do with the main thing which is building a sustainable business by creating value for its customers.
If you feel the need to communicate publicly that people other than your customers trust your business, probably you don’t have too much trust on what you actually try to accomplish.
Or… it’s just a way to say hello to the investors who passed funding the company. 😊
Either way, it is just wasted marketing that doesn’t convert into new business.
🇪🇪 Bolt launched a dedicated environmental impact fund with seed capital of €10 million.
The fund’s first transaction will finance a forest creation project that plants trees to increase natural carbon sequestration, increase biodiversity, stop pollutants from entering water courses, and prevent the erosion of topsoil. The initiative involves planting over 9,500 trees on 5.8 hectares of land in Angus, Scotland.
Bolt’s environmental impact fund forms part of the company’s wider environmental strategy known as ‘the Green Plan’ which focuses on long-term commitment to reduce the ecological footprint of Bolt as a company.
Bolt is a startup that raised a total of $25M in venture capital.
That is good marketing. 😊
🇬🇧 From a Macchiato to Open Banking. How I invested in FinPort (now TrueLayer)
🇩🇪 Germany’s first mobility ‘flat rate’ starts in Augsburg
🇸🇪 Volvo will use blockchain to ensure metals used in batteries aren't mined by children in Africa
Bonus:
3. Interesting bets
🇫🇮 Finland
mobility-as-a-service business providing completely unlimited pass, covering all public transportation, bikes, taxis (within 5km), and rental cars | €29.5 million | BP Ventures, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui Fudosan, Nordic Ninja
developer of open source Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tech | $5.6 million | Benchmark Capital
🇬🇷 Greece
simple-to-use tools aimed at video content and podcast producers improve the audio | $3.3 million | Venture Friends, Big Pi, IQBility, PJ Tech
🇫🇷 France
a cybersecurity software publisher whose technology provides software code reliability and security, based on mathematical proof | €1.2 million | ACE Management, Idinvest Partners
digital marketplace for real estate professionals | €1.2 million | 5M VENTURES, Normandie Participations, N’Factory, Bpifrance
SaaS solution helping companies to find the best match between their projects and their employees | €1.1 million | Kerala Ventures, Kima Ventures
urban e-commerce logistics operator that collects, packs and sends your products everywhere in the world | CMA CGM
🇩🇪 Germany
blockchain protocol focused on permanent data storage | $5 million | a16z, Multicoin Capital, Union Square Ventures
digitally assisted therapy and training system for people with psychological and neurological impairments | €1.1 million | Rhein Invest, angel investors
team success platform that helps high-growth companies hire people who fit their team and culture, shape their culture for growth | €1 million | M13
a direct-to-consumer digital health company providing personalized high-quality vitamins plus Nutrition Expert Consultation | Insight Partners
🇱🇹 Lithuania
a marketplace for knowledge and experience | €540k | Change Ventures, 70Ventures, angel investors
🇷🇴 Romania
a smart e-fulfillment platform that takes over the storage, processing and delivery of orders for online stores | €1.2 million | GapMinder Venture Partners, ROCA X
🇪🇸 Spain
online platform allowing e-commerce sites to fund social projects through their users | €565k | Equity4Good
🇬🇧 UK
climate forecasting platform | £3.7 million |Future Positive Capital, Astanor Ventures
subscription based service sending real letters, maps, stickers and stories to children | £1 million | Collab+Sesame, angel investors
4. Research, data, observations
🇪🇺 Top ten most requested startups by investors at Web Summit 2019
🇪🇺 Nutrix glycose level measurement device wins pitch competition at Web Summit 2019
The other two finalists: Banjo Robinson, your child’s pen pal (UK) and Be Right Back, a monthly subscription turned surprise trip in a City Break (UK).
🇪🇺 The 5 best countries in Europe for founders and startups:
TL:DR UK, Germany, Estonia, Sweden and Finland. Click on the link to read the reasoning.
🇫🇮 Finland’s Startup & VC Ecosystem
🇪🇺 A list of 127 world wide esports companies made by Dealroom
🇪🇺 The rise of late-stage funding for European tech scale-ups
TL:DR The late stage deals in Europe are made by American investment firms, mostly
Bonus:
5. What others think
🇫🇮 🇸🇪 Helsinki and Stockholm: warm friends or frosty rivals?
🇬🇧 The Gross Margin Problem: Lessons for Tech-Enabled Startups
Bonus:
Happy Sunday!
Thanks for reading 🙌
Created by @drnovac every Sunday. Please share it with people who may find it interesting - thanks! Feedback at dragos@nordic9.com.