Good morning Sifted reader,

Reshma Sohoni is one of the true OGs of Europe’s tech scene — and last week I had the pleasure of speaking to her for the latest episode of the Sifted podcast.

Since she founded Seedcamp, arguably Europe’s best-known (and one of its best-performing) VCs, back in 2007, it has backed more than 550 companies, including Wise, Revolut and UiPath. Its third fund, raised in 2014, has six unicorns in its portfolio and has given investors more than a 6.5x return on their capital. It raised its sixth and latest fund, of $180m, earlier this year.

We talked about everything from psychopathic CEOs and churn at VC firms, to the biggest headaches her portfolio founders have right now (spoiler: losing customers) and whether she’ll ever leave Seedcamp.

I've pulled out the highlights for you to read — but I would highly recommend listening to the full conversation too.

– Amy, editor

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR STRIPE

Are recurring revenue streams the answer to growth?

In today’s rapidly changing market, investing in recurring revenue streams could help improve your top line. But how? Join this panel of experts as they uncover all you need to know.

RSVP

Startups are dialling back international expansion plans big time — and some are even calling it quits on markets where they have traction.

Why? Because investors no longer want to cough up the capital to fund loss-making expansions in the short-term, even if it could lead to riches in the long term.

Swedish discount grocery store Motatos (known as Matsmart at home) is the latest example of this trend. Just one year after raising a €38m Series D to expand to the UK, it's now pulling out of the market.
“It’s not that we didn’t have traction in the UK; it was well received by both consumers and suppliers,” Motatos founder Karl Andersson tells Sifted. “The reason is that there is no investor that wants to put [€10m] on a bet that a market will become profitable.”

Plenty of other food businesses have also retreated from markets this year — Oda, Flink and Getir, to name a few — but healthtech and consumer startups are also not immune.

Dawn, the B2B software investor, has raised a record $620m flagship fund to back startups at Series A and B.

It's also raised a new $80m follow-on fund to continue investing in its best performing portfolio companies at Series C and beyond.

🚢 Founders, chill out with the hiring. It might end up sinking your startup.

👌 "I moved to Europe and built my VC network from scratch." Two big networking tips from Meagan Loyst, founder of the Gen Z VC community.

😱 Why is applying for EU funding such a nightmare? What one founder has learnt from submitting dozens of applications.

Plus... do recruiters have an unfair reputation? Have you ever bagged your dream job because of a recruiter? If so, we want to hear from you at orlando@sifted.eu 🙏

🦾 The 10 fastest-growing European deeptechs, based on headcount growth over the last 12 months. Top of the list? Stability AI.

🇩🇪 Which German startups could be next to hit unicorn status? We've scouted out 25 likely contenders.

🔥 150+ generative AI startups in Europe.

👀 9 women and multicultural founders to watch in 2023 (sponsored by Morgan Stanley).

👼 Meet 7 European angel investors (and former startup operators) — and the 18 startups they're betting on.

Funding into European nuclear startups is slowly trending up — but deals are still few and far between.

Scientific breakthroughs and a rush of private investment is raising hopes that commercial nuclear power — of both the fission and fusion varieties — could yet play a meaningful role in cutting global emissions before 2050.
But European governments remain deeply divided on nuclear. France generates nearly two-thirds of its electricity through nuclear power, but its neighbour Germany began shutting down its nuclear plants after the Fukushima disaster.
Still, 13 small modular reactors — a smaller, supposedly safer way to produce nuclear energy — are being developed in the UK and the EU.
Although one leading European fusion startup, Marvel Fusion, has already been lured to the US...

Find out more about the state of nuclear tech in our latest Briefing.

What do funds of funds want to see from VC funds in order to give them capital? According to a new survey of 103 FoFs by Mountside Ventures, it's:

Track record (although 85% of the surveyed FoFs had invested in emerging managers);
Differentiation;
Good communication;
A long-term relationship (64% said they wanted to engage with VC funds as early as possible, at least one to two years before committing).

Team Sifted have some travels coming up...

🥨 Editor Amy Lewin and Germany reporter Miriam Partington are at Bits & Pretzels in Munich today and tomorrow.

🇱🇺 Amy is hosting the EIF's annual conference Ugly Duck in Luxembourg tomorrow. Let her know what you'd like her to find out from the biggest backer of European VCs.

💰 Senior reporter Zosia Wanat will be finding out everything you need to know about recurring revenue streams in an online Sifted Talks on September 27 at 12pm BST. Sign up — it's free!

🇬🇧 The whole team of Sifted journalists (17 and counting...) will be at the Sifted Summit in London on October 4-5. Hundreds of founders, investors and operators from across startup Europe have registered over the past week. Grab your ticket today!

💊 And if you're an investor interested in healthtech, join our next Pitch event on October 10, exclusively for Sifted Pro members. We'll showcase some healthtech startups in fine fettle looking for funding in Q4.

🔥🔥

London fintech Curve, which enables customers to bundle all their payments cards into a single app, has raised £58m in a Series C extension from a bunch of investors, including Cercano Management (the venture arm of Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen's estate).
Hotel and hospitality tech startup Shackle, based in London, has raised a £12m Series A led by Silverstripe.

💳

Berlin-based fintech Moss, which provides companies with corporate cards, has secured a €50m debt funding facility from HSBC Innovation Banking UK.

If you’d like to submit a deal, get in touch.

There are plenty of ways to get your fix.

Meet us in person at the Sifted Summit — tickets on sale now.
Sign up to our specialist newsletters if you want more on fintech, climate tech, startup life or venture capital.
Tune in to Sifted’s weekly podcast, hosted by editors Amy and Eleanor.
Access investment-grade research on the hottest sectors and rising stars of European tech by subscribing to Sifted Pro.