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OCTOBER 19, 2022

Hello Sifted reader,

Berlin-based digital bank Nuri has shut up shop, announcing yesterday that it had failed to find new investors to save it three months after filing for insolvency. Unfortunately, the bad news doesn't stop there: a new report has found that SaaS investments have dipped by 42% in Q3, planting the seeds of concern in other sectors.

On a brighter note though, there's funding round celebrations to be had at speech and language therapy app Noala's HQ. It's raised €4m in a round led by LocalGlobe, which it'll use to grow its team and expand in the US. 

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

• The footballers investing in startups
• Does Europe need — or want — a superapp?
• How to nail an acquisition, according to the pros
• Founders, you need to be more honest

⚽ The hand of angels. From scoring goals to supporting seed rounds, a fair few footballers have turned their focus from football pitches to pitch decks. Retired internationals and current stars alike are getting in on the investing game — but which startups have caught their attention? 

📉 European SaaS slumps. VC firm Accel's latest Euroscape report has revealed that quarter-on-quarter investment into software-as-a-service (SaaS) startups dipped by 42% in Q3 this year. Inflation and rising interest rates are the likely culprits, and the data could send the heebie-jeebies through other sectors in Europe.

🤭 Fibs that founders tell. Ever left a startup networking session feeling like you have a tonne of work to do to catch up? Well, as James Routledge, founder of Sanctus, argues, there are often a few white lies involved in these not-so-subtle brags — and he reckons it's about time founders were a little more honest with each other.

🦸 Does Europe want a WeChat? Superapps that let users manage everything from insurance to food orders in one place, like Asia's WeChat and AliPay, are yet to make their mark on Europe. But is the problem that there aren't any strong contenders, or is there simply a lack of demand?

🚺 The Nordic gender gap. Though the Nordics are often praised for offering a good quality of life, the startup scene is far from equal. Just over 1% of funding in the region in 2021 went to all-female founded teams, with all-male founded teams taking bigger slices of the pie — as much as 92% in Norway, in fact. 

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💬 Speech and language therapy app raises $4m. Led by LocalGlobe, startup Noala will use the cash from the round to double its current headcount of 12 over the next year. It charges £30 a week for its direct-to-consumer app for families, which the company says is about a third of the typical cost of speech and language therapy. 

🏦 Berlin-based bank Nuri terminates business. In a blog post published yesterday, the company announced that it had failed to find any fresh investment or acquirers after filing for insolvency earlier this year. Around 215 employees will lose their jobs as a result, and customers have been asked to withdraw their funds by December 18. 

🇮🇹 Founders Factory to launch in Italy. The London-based startup builder is set to launch a new venture studio and accelerator in Italy’s capital, Sifted has learnt. It’ll spend the next five years funding more than 50 local startups, providing yet more evidence to suggest that the startup scene in Milan is catching some international attention.

SIFTED TALKS

With VCs becoming more conservative, what does a go-to-market strategy look like for startups in the new economy? On October 26, we’ll hear from Clari, Octopus Ventures and Papara about how startups can still strike the right balance between profitability and growth.

See you there.

🤝 How to get acquisition-ready. CEOs and founders who have been through the acquisition process and emerged to tell the tale give their advice on selling your startup successfully, with tips on everything from preparation to integrating a new team. 

👀 (De)risky business. Why your startup should outsource in an economic downturn. (In partnership with The Nest by Webhelp.)

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Sadia Nowshin

Editorial Assistant

Get in touch with her at

sadia@sifted.eu

She tweets from 

@sadianowshin_

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor

Get in touch with him at

tom@sifted.eu

He tweets from

@TJNugent92

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