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Hi Sifted Reader,

Today's line up:

🤑 UiPath's early investors to make a 220,000% return (yup, not a typo!)
💰 A €50m fund for impact startups
👽 Why LinkedIn is weird as hell

\Fintech

Consumer fintechs need B2B arm to survive

Hot, young fintechs needs to take a leaf out of big banks’ book, says Société Genéralé's exec Claire Calmejane. They should introduce a B2B arm, she argues, and aggressively expand their product line beyond just consumers.

But why then, is the bank buying loss-making startups?

Isabel Woodford reports.

What's going on with the French?

A lot has changed in 10 years. Economic reform, world-class mathematicians and corporate-startup partnerships are putting French tech on the map.

But how will the French tech ecosystem set itself apart on the global stage?

Find out in our new report.

\For Members Venture Capital

UiPath's early investors will make a 220,000% return

The three VC firms which made the initial seed investment into UiPath may have made what looks likely to be one of the greatest ever European venture bets, according to Sifted calculations.

Who were the lucky VCs? And how much is their monster return?

Take a guess and find out here.

Sifted Membership is now live!

For unlimited access to our exclusive member-only coverage and analysis of startup Europe (plus other exciting perks), look no further.

Explore our membership packages here.

Psst. Use discount code: Loyal20 during checkout to get 20% off.

\Venture Capital

A new fund for impact startups

French investment firm Founders Future has cash to splash on early-stage impact-driven startups, after making the first €20m close of its second fund.

It's looking for startups working on vertical farming, last-mile delivery, mental health, mobility and food, especially food.

What's so tasty about foodtech? Freya Pratty finds out.

Sifted Suggests

👍 What good looks like when it comes to investing in women. A new report outlines what investors need to do if they want to back more women founders and build more diverse teams in-house. If you work for a VC, how many of these boxes are you ticking?

🇺🇸 What US startups get wrong about expanding into Europe. Harvard Business Review outlines what practical steps US executives should take when crossing the Atlantic — from timing to the first senior hire. (See here for expanding stateside from Europe).

💥 European IPOs kicked off 2021 with a bang. A few months ago, several pundits predicted the resurgence of the IPO in Europe… and they were right. Companies listed on European stock exchanges, including London’s, have sold €8.4bn in equity through 16 deals from companies like Huuuge Games and Auto1.

🤔 And what about SPACs? Special-purpose-acquisition-companies, or ‘blank cheque’ companies, are also set to become more popular in Europe amid rising interest in SPACs to come and buy European startups.

🤨 Why LinkedIn is bizarre as f***. This is a funny read on people’s encounters with the strange world of LinkedIn, from its weird social features to its networking tragedies.

🇬🇷 Where are Greek VCs investing? From Marathon Venture Capital to Velocity Partners, Greek investors share their insights on the sectors they’re interested in, who they’re extending collaboration with outside their local ecosystem and more.

\A message from our partner Norrsken

Don't miss out, apply for the Norrsken Impact Accelerator

Participants will receive $100k pre-seed investment, eight weeks of mentorship support in Stockholm and access to top investors, from Atomico to Accel.

The deadline is Feb 28 — learn more and apply here.

Events [digital only]

👋 Sifted Talks — How to sell SaaS in a crowded market | Online | 18 Feb

What are big mistakes early-stage SaaS companies make while selling?
Is freemium here to stay?
What can we learn from big SaaS success stories — and failures?

Find out next Thursday. Sign up now.

😿 Sifted Talks — It's meow or never: Is cat tech about to take off? | Online | 2 March

Why do investors care more about dog tech than cat tech?
What’s different about marketing to cat owners?
What is it about cats that makes designing products for them hard?

Join us on 2 March. Sign up now.

Scaling up hardware deeptech startups | Online | 16 Feb
Nordic startup campus Maria 01 and a panel of founders and experts guide you through the twists and turns of the startup hardware journey.

Building tech ecosystems in a distributed world | Online | 24 Feb
Don’t miss out on this event moderated by Sifted featuring heaps of star speakers — from The Family's Nicolas Colin to Atomico's Sarah Guemouri — to learn how to build top global tech ecosystems.

Tech meets sustainability: what’s the next big thing in greentech? | Online | 25 Feb
Join Hubraum, Deutsch Telekom’s tech incubator, to find out.