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Amy and Eleanor have swapped a somewhat mild London for bitterly cold Helsinki this week, as they head to Finnish tech conference Slush for two days of saunas, atmospheric club-like vibes and (presumably) a decent chunk of startup stuff. Drop them a line if you're also there. 

And a big thanks to everyone who's already spent a few minutes filling out our community survey on startup accelerators. If you haven't yet got round to it, we'd love to hear about your experiences. (It's anonymous so you can spill the beans in complete confidence.)

From the Sifted newsroom:

• PFR Ventures boss: Poland’s startup money is safe despite dispute over EU funds
• How a pre-product sign-up list helped this startup raise funding
• Why B2B fintech is "sexy" now
• An Atomico angel launches a new solo fund

🇵🇱 Poland’s VC cash is safe despite dispute over EU funds. The EU said it would withhold regional aid payments — which make up most of state-owned PFR Ventures' money — worth tens of billions of euros to the country amid a years-long conflict over the rule of law. But, according to its boss, that won't stop the flow of cash into the country's startups.

Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG) is part of one of the world’s largest pension plans. Partner with them and get access to long-term capital, plus the expertise and resources of a global investor with a proven track record.

💰 How a pre-product sign-up list helped this startup raise funding. The road to a €2.5m seed round for architecture software startup Finch started when it posted a gif of its super early-stage product on social media. It led to 12k industry folk signing up for access when it was released — so how did it turn that demand into funding? 

💸 Why B2B fintech is "sexy". Shiny coral debit cards and consumer investing apps aren't cool anymore. You know what is? Fintechs selling their wares to others businesses. They've attracted $14.1bn in investment so far in 2022 —  funding for B2C fintechs dropped to $3.2bn, its lowest level since 2015.

🇪🇸 Spain’s fastest growing startups outside of Madrid and Barcelona. While traditionally the country's startup scene has centred on its two main cities, more and more Spanish tech companies from further afield are raising funds. But which of them are growing the fastest?

🧠 Dementia prevention app Five Lives raises €3.7m. It's one of Europe's first digital therapeutics for dementia startups, and is looking to spend the money on clinically validating its app, acquiring more customers in the UK and Australia and launching in Germany and France. But what are the barriers to scale, and which other European startups are vying for top spot?

📚 Subscriptions are getting cut: could pay-per-click be the answer? Two thirds of UK consumers say they're cutting back on subscriptions as the cost of living crisis takes hold. Swedish startup Sesamy thinks it has the answer with its pay-per-click service for books — and investors have just backed it with a €3.3m seed round. 

🤖 Can deeptech scale as fast as other kinds of tech? German VC firm Vsquared Ventures thinks so, and it's just raised a new $165m fund to test its theory. It'll back early-stage European deeptech startups, and will invest up to €3m in 20 to 25 companies. The rest of the money will go towards follow-on rounds.  

😇 Stefano Bernardi becomes first Atomico angel to launch their own fund. Unruly Ventures will invest in "weird stuff", says Bernardi, mainly in the climate and deeptech spaces. He's got €18m in the coffers after the fund's first close, and will invest around €250k in leading pre-seed rounds or participating in seed deals.

💵 How to prepare your startup for an acquisition. Any founder worth their salt will have an exit strategy built into their startup’s journey — whether a long-term goal of floating on a stock exchange or an earlier target of being bought out by a larger player. But how do you get acquisition-ready?

💰 How much should a B2B software startup spend on marketing? Double what traditional businesses spend, according to VCs and CMOs that Sifted spoke to. Paying close attention to customer acquisition costs and giving the team "pocket money" are also key, say the experts.

🤑 How to prepare for a fundraise. It's a daunting and time-consuming task that few founders enjoy — but for many it's an unavoidable part of growing a startup. Here's how to do the pre-raise legwork to make fundraising less painful.

Running or working at an early-stage startup isn't always easy. And when it feels like you're driving the train while building the tracks, who do you turn to for support?

Every Wednesday morning Sifted's Startup Life newsletter brings you a dose of sage wisdom from across European tech, dropping everything you need to manage and grow a successful business straight into your inbox. 

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• Receive tips from the experts, on everything from avoiding boardroom conflict to raising a successful round.

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Kai Nicol-Schwarz

Reporter

Get in touch with him at
kai@sifted.eu

He tweets from 

@NicolSchwarzK

Tom Nugent

Digital Editor

Get in touch with him at

tom@sifted.eu

He tweets from

@TJNugent92

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