Sifted - Fame-seeking founders... ugh 😒

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Hi Sifted Reader,

Happy Monday! Here's our line up for today:
  • TransferWise is dead... (kind of) 😵
  • German startups riding the e-mobility wave 🛴
  • Bitwala's big Bitcoin break 📈
  • Fame-seeking founders... ugh 😒

\Fintech 

TransferWise is no more...


Well, the name at least (the business is still going strong). It's now called 'Wise', a nod towards it not 'just' being a money transfer company anymore.

But is the name change really a move worth taking?

Freya Pratty reports.

\A message from our sponsor Techleap.nl

What's going on in the Netherlands? Gouda question...

The 2021 Techleap Summit has come to a close. Access the key takeaways from all the sessions, from deep dives into the state of Dutch tech, to sessions on raising Series A funding and scaling like a champ.

Read more of the key takeaways here.

\For members \Mobility

VCs name the German startups riding the e-mobility wave


It's safe to say that Europe's electric mobility boom is here, and Germany's leading it.

Three in 10 new vehicles sold in Germany are electric, BMW's building 250k more electric cars than initially planned by 2023 and Tesla is underway developing its gigafactory in Berlin.

But car manufacturers alone cannot be the only driving force in the race to electric — and that's where startups come in. But which ones will benefit most?

From cybersecurity to 3D printing, four European VCs pick them out.

\Fintech

Bitwala's big Bitcoin break


Berlin-based fintech Bitwala is on a roll thanks to the surge in the price of Bitcoin. It's seen a whopping 50% increase of users, is operationally profitable and is now Germany's third biggest neobank (behind N26 and Revolut).

Now, the startup wants to convince its customers that, beyond the surging highs and lows of Bitcoin, blockchain technology doesn’t always have to be high risk and that the company can offer a “bank account to grow your wealth.”

How? Freya Pratty finds out.

\Sifted Talks

It's meow or never: Is cat tech about to take off?

  • 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 March 2. Sign up now.

\Opinion

Founders, focus on building your product


For Elena Mazhuha, investment manager at Genesis Investments, "limelight-seeking founders" make her want to become Elon Musk's #1 spaceship tester and leave the planet screaming in despair.

On a more serious note, she believes that they're not just annoying but potentially damaging to Europe's startup ecosystem.

Why?

Sifted Suggests

💡 How to sell and scale your SaaS startup. Missed our Sifted Talks on how to stay SaaSy last week? This handy Twitter thread highlights the best bits.

🤖 Europe’s deeptech startup ecosystem spawns some of the world’s most sought out innovation talent, from cutting edge startups like BioNtech and Ynsect. Still, that hasn’t been enough for Europe to come out on top of the technological revolution of the past two decades. Here’s how that can be changed.

👋 Barclays retires mobile payments app. The UK bank is closing Pingit, its mobile payments app, after a decade since launching. What happened?

🦘 Deliveroo: from bust to boom. An interesting read about how Amazon’s $575m investment in Deliveroo unfolded… and how it saved the food delivery company from collapse (with a cost).

🇫🇷 Frenchies are opening up to share buybacks. The sale of employee shares, which has long been taboo in France, is finally gaining momentum thanks to Cityscoot, an e-scooter rental startup part of La French Tech’s Next40 ranking.

💳 Most active fintech investors in the Nordics. Nordic9 has dug into the investors backing the most fintechs in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland in 2020. See who they are here.

👍 A gig economy win. The UK Supreme Court has ruled that Uber drivers are workers, entitling them to basic rights like paid holidays, contrary to Uber’s appeal against this. We’re all for improving the gig economy and recently looked into European’s rethinking of the gig economy model.

🇮🇪 Ireland’s most promising startups 2021. Who are investors funding? Which ones have the most rapidly growing headcounts? From fintech to mobility, find out here.

\Hiring

Jobs at Sifted


We're growing fast — and have lots of roles open across the business. Please have a snoop, apply or recommend a friend! 

Events [digital only]

Sifted Talks - Crunching the numbers: How to use data to grow your startup | Online | 10 March

  • How can you use numbers to make your product stand out?
  • How do metrics empower nontechnical teams?
  • Which data tools can make you more efficient? 

Check out the lineup so far here — one speaker to be announced!

The future of innovation in food & agri | Online | 23 Feb
Join ScaleUp Nation and Anieke Wierenga, former director of ScaleUp Food to find out how organisations are moving away from simply generating innovations to becoming truly innovative.

Building tech ecosystems in a distributed world | Online | 24 Feb
As the world has gone remote, what's changed for startup ecosystems? Has the playbook for success shifted? How do you manage culture, raising and red tape in a multinational startup? 

Live pitch competition #DSLive2 | Online | 26 Feb
Debut Sessions’ live pitch competition is this Friday! Catch Sifted's deputy editor Amy Lewin talking angel investing with super active angels Ian Hogarth, Deepali Nangia and Matt Robinson.

Your ultimate guide to 2021 | Online | 18-20 March
The FTWeekend Festival is back, with a new Spring digital edition. Join over 100 leading authors, scientists, politicians and FTWeekend writers and editors to explore the big ideas and the cultural, economic and political questions of the moment.

Sifted Opinion

Why can't Europe build a Clubhouse?
Stop hunting for unicorns, look for green zebras instead
Remote work: HR nightmare?
What companies need to understand about Gen Z founders
Do founders make the best CEOs?
Amy Lewin
Deputy Editor

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
Or tweeting @amyrlewin
Connor Bilboe
Editorial Assistant 

Get in touch with him at connor@sifted.eu
He likes sustainability stories.
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Older messages

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UiPath investors get 220,000% return 🤑

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Sifted Membership is here! | WTF is wrong with LinkedIn? | A new impact fund View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Today's line up: 🤑 UiPath's early investors to make a 220000%

You’re invited! Become a Sifted Member with your exclusive discount 👥

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Please join us on the next stage of our expansion 🙏 View this email in your browser Sifted is the FT-backed media site telling the untold stories of European tech. Subscribe here. First up, thanks for

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Spain's most undervalued startups | Oxford Uni's sustainability venture studio | Monzo raises, again View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Here's your Wednesday lineup: 🇫🇷

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