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HR tech unicorn Personio has moved one step closer to an IPO by making a change to the company's status that sets a path to the public markets in motion.

But getting to a point where you can make that sort of decision means scaling successfully, something Victoria Repa, founder of fitness platform BetterMe, doesn't think can happen unless founders always focus on growing profit quicker than headcount.

Also from the Sifted newsroom:

— Sadia, editorial assistant & Tom, digital editor

👀 The companies that could be scouting for cash soon. Many startups that could afford to avoid 2022’s unforgiving fundraising environment made the decision to do so — but now, some of them are coming to the end of an 18 to 24 month period after which they'd have expected to raise again.

So, which startups could be venturing out for more funding in the near future?

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💸 2022's most active investors at Series A. In 2022, European startups raised €12.2bn in Series A cash, compared to 2021's €12.9bn. But who was backing them? Here are the 10 most active investors at Series A in Europe last year — plus, the advice they'd offer to teams facing uncertain times ahead.

➡️ Personio steps closer to IPO. The German HR tech unicorn has made a change in its legal docs that takes it from being a German limited liability company to a Societas Europaea (SE) European public limited company, which market watchers say lays the foundation for going public.

🤖 Which investors have been getting involved in AI? Artificial intelligence innovations are sweeping the startup scene at the moment — from OpenAI's ChatGPT to image generators like Stable Diffusion — but which investors have been the ones dishing out the cash to AI startups in Europe?

🥸 The VCs doing secondments at portfolio companies. VCs claim they work closely with portfolio companies, but only a handful have got their hands dirty with the daily grind of working for one — meet the VCs parking investing to do a full-time stint at a startup.

📈 Why startups should grow profits before growing headcount. One of the common areas that fresh cash is often spent on at a business is talent — after all, the more smart people on a team developing an idea, the quicker the profits will roll in... right? Victoria Repa, founder and CEO of fitness startup BetterMe, argues otherwise, and thinks startups should always grow profit quicker than headcount.

January 18 | Fraud techniques are evolving, how safe is your startup?
With the rapid growth of ecommerce and online payments,businesses need to adapt to protect their customers. At our next Sifted Talks on January 18, experts from GoCardless, Kroo, Mettle and SEON get inside the minds of fraudsters and explore how to become a better digital gatekeeper.
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January 31 | The unicorn dream — what’s working and what’s not
VCs are seeking a rarer breed of scaleup, one that’s robust to market turbulence. How can startups find their path to profitability without losing growth opportunities? We’ll be joined by experts from Rohlik, Seedcamp and UiPath who’ll share their top tips for navigating the current market. Register for free.

💭 How to set goals for 2023. If you've got big dreams for the year ahead, then sitting down and planning out what you'd like to achieve and how you're going to get there is a good place to start. Startup career coach Ellen Donnelly sets out exactly how to do that effectively to give yourself the best shot at success in 2023.

🕵️ How far would you go to vet a founder? Some VCs are pulling in a former spook to check out founders before parting with their cash — we explore how using techniques from the world of espionage in startupland works on the latest episode of The Sifted Podcast.