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Hi Sifted Reader,

Here's today's line up:

👋 Clubhouse x Germany's diversity issues
🤑 European VCs get £670m for Trustpilot IPO
👀 Startups to watch in southeastern Europe
😡 How not to lose your sh*t as a founder

\Diversity

What Clubhouse tells us about diversity in German tech

When audio-only app Clubhouse exploded onto the German startup scene earlier this year, founders, journalists and politicians all flocked to join and hang out together — but people of colour were notably absent.

Why — and what does this tell us about Germany's startup scene?

Miriam Partington reports from Berlin.

\A message from our sponsor Tech Nation

What’s the future of UK tech?

Tech Nation has released its 2021 Report, which dives deep into the ecosystem’s future challenges and opportunities, and how scaling companies can propel the UK’s industry forward, post-Covid.

Learn more about the report here.

\Consumer

European VCs get £670m for Trustpilot IPO

Consumer-review site Trustpilot will start trading on the London Stock Exchange today at a valuation of around £1bn.

European VC funds Draper Esprit, Index Ventures, Northzone and Seed Capital collectively own just over 67% of Trustpilot shares, meaning they will cash in at a whopping £670m. Who are the other big winners?

Michael Stothard reports.

\For Members Venture Capital

VC picks: 18 startups to watch in southeastern Europe

At a valuation of $35bn, the success of robotic process automation platform UiPath is a sign of the growing strength of the Romanian startup ecosystem.

But which up-and-coming startups in southeastern Europe do investors think could follow in its footsteps? And which city or country do each think will be the next major tech hub in the region?

Find out here.

\Opinion

How not to lose your sh*t as a founder

When stuff goes wrong with your business — or your team mucks up — it's easy to overreact, throw around blame and make decisions you'll regret.

Luckily, Sehaam Cyrene, an executive coach, has some tips for how to deal with those stressful situations.

What to do and what to say when the sh*t hits the fan.

\Sponsored by Toucan Toco

6 ways to grow your startup with data

Last week, Sifted and Toucan Toco brought together a panel of experts to find out what kinds of data startups need to track to set up KPIs, speed up inefficient internal processes and deliver value for their customers.

Missed out? Here's what went down.

News that Matters

🍅 French vertical farming startup Jungle raises €42m. The company says it's making headway on two of the biggest challenges facing vertical farming: how to make a profit, and how to grow more than just leaves. Freya Pratty finds out more.

💸 Aldea Ventures closes €60m fund backing VCs and startups. The Barcelona-based VC firm will invest in up to 20 'microfunds' — smaller funds that back seed-stage companies — and make Series A investments into the portfolio companies of its partner microfunds. Why has it adopted this hybrid fund model? Tim Smith finds out.

Sifted Suggests

🇬🇧 Prepping for your first round? Good luck. First time deals for startups in the UK are now below 2012 levels (!), according to this chart. Meanwhile, follow on rounds are booming.

📊 European VC valuation data. How many unicorns did Europe make in 2020? How many billions are they worth? What are company exit prices looking like? Find out this and more in Pitchbook’s latest report.

🇪🇸 10 young Spanish entrepreneurs with an international presence. According to the global network programme Nova Talent, from technology to telecommunications.

🤑 How did Snyk boost its valuation to $4.7bn? Insider sits down with Peter McKay, CEO of the security company, to chat about its next moves after it recently raised a $300m Series E round.