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Hi Sifted Reader,

Tomorrow, the Sifted team heads to Vienna for our latest Sifted Sessions event, where we're diving into all things corporate-startup relationships. And if you've missed it, don't worry — we have an array of events across Europe's top startup hubs in 2022, so keep your eyes peeled.

And coming out of our newsroom today, do Europe's startups have a management problem? Plus…

• The great fintech consolidation
• How to keep your best staff
• The UK gets a new electric battery research facility

— Sophie, editorial assistant & Tom, digital editor

“We were lied to, we were ignored in meetings, our work was not valued and we were disrespected in front of other colleagues,” one Sifted reader tells us, about their experience working under a previous startup manager. 

And they're not alone. In our recent community survey on startup bosses, 83% of Sifted readers said that either a minority or none of their bosses were equipped to lead.

So do Europe's startups have a management problem?

How is your startup coping with the economic uncertainty? Let us know here.

From seed to Series A, startups need a bank that understands the equity-backed high-growth innovation ecosystem. Silicon Valley Bank combines expertise, banking, tools and access to help you reach your next milestone, faster.

With investors becoming more cautious as interest rates rise and inflation surges across Europe, global fintech saw its biggest drop in funding in three years during Q1 of 2022.

But for companies flush with capital, this presents an opportunity to buy smaller startups struggling for cash.

So which fintech subsectors are most ripe for consolidation?

Recruiting top deeptech talent is becoming increasingly competitive — the average salary for a data scientist is £86k.

But retaining your best staff comes down to more than compensation — it's about thinking like the big guys and accelerating later-stage processes, thinks Anna Roe, chief people officer at Mind Foundry.

So how do you do it?

🛡️ Hoxhunt raises $40m Series B. The Finnish cybersecurity startup, which has created a platform with millions of phishing simulations to train employees to detect threats, has raised $40m in a funding round led by New York-based Level Equity Management. And it's becoming increasingly important — cyberattacks in Europe grew 68% last year, the largest regional increase globally.

⚕️ Care home staffing startup Florence raises £28.5m. 90k care workers use Florence's app, which connects them to temporary roles at care homes, while 2,000 organisations use the British startup's rota management software and online training tools. With Europe's ageing population, it's something of a surprise there aren't more big startups in the care home sector — but Florence is unlikely to be the last.

🔋 Britishvolt plans to build £200m research facility. The UK-based electric battery scaleup has announced plans to build a new site in the West Midlands alongside its planned gigafactory in the northeast of England. The new site will be used to develop new battery types and test existing ones before they’re manufactured and shipped en masse to customers.

With markets down, a spot in Europe’s unicorn club is now even more coveted. Join us on June 22 as we dive into the scaling and preparation needed to hit that $1bn value mark.

Hear from the experts.

🌋 Freya Pratty, Sifted’s climatetech reporter, talks to cofounder of Berlin-based fund Extantia Capital Sebastian Heitmann about the opportunities and challenges around geothermal energy.

💡 Selin Bucak looks into the downfall of intrapreneurship in France, as a wave of programmes set up during the last decade have since been closed down.

📈 With prices surging across Europe, employees are demanding higher salaries. So how should startup founders respond? (Sponsored by Pave)

🏦 After a period of rivalry, fintechs and traditional banks are finally beginning to form fruitful partnerships. But it's not all rosy. Here's what's at risk. (In partnership in with Banking Circle)

The Sifted team is growing! Here are our latest roles up for grabs: 

🪄 We’re looking for a campaign administrator and coordinator to support us with our client campaigns, from sponsored events to in-depth reports. We're after someone who's at ease working with clients, with impeccable diary management and monitoring analytics skills. Sound like you? Apply here.

🕴️ Business development executives, we want you! Are you the type of person who can help us find new business opportunities, develop early stage accounts and build our client base? If this sounds up your street, then come and join us. 

🎊 Events are a huge part of life at Sifted — that’s why we’re looking for a senior events marketing manager to lead our events marketing strategy during an exciting time of growth. Think you’d be a good fit? Find out more here.

Sophie Zhang

Editorial Assistant

Get in touch with them at sophiezhang@sifted.eu

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor 

Get in touch with him at tomnugent@sifted.eu
Or tweeting at @TJNugent92

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