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Today's line up:

Why parental leave is hard for VCs
Doctors transitioning to digital health: hints and tips
The US investors most active in Europe
Tiger Global strikes again

\Venture Capital

Raising babies and funds is hard

There are not very many VCs in Europe who can say they’ve raised a fund while pregnant — or taken a significant amount of leave.

What happens to board seats when VCs go on parental leave? Does dealflow dry up? And how do LPs react?

There aren’t easy answers to these questions, as a growing generation of VCs are discovering.

Amy Lewin finds out how they’re approaching pregnancy and portfolios.

\A message from our sponsor Oracle NetSuite

The profit-building strategies to excel your startup

Oracle NetSuite’s white paper on achieving a more profitable business outlines the strategies that could take your startup to the next level.

Read it here.

\Opinion

Doctorpreneurs: Here's how to deal with your critics

Should digital doctors who left the bedside to found a digital health company be classified as 'real doctors'? Absolutely, say Anne Latz, Susanne Kreimer and Sven Jungmann, three digital health innovators who have made the transition.

For those of you looking to do the same, you may have heard some common criticism from fellow doctors and laypeople. And some of it is true, but some of it is a lie.

Here's their advice on how to handle the transition well.

\For Members Sifted Access

Fintech special: Fireside chat with Sujata Bhatia, COO, Monzo

Join Sujata Bhatia and Isabel Woodford, Sifted's senior fintech reporter, on May 27 at 5pm for a members-only fireside chat. They'll discuss how the challenger banks are growing up, look into what they’re messing up and explore their future.

Plus, it's your chance to quiz Isabel on anything, from life as a fintech journalist to up-and-coming startups, from crazy valuations to hype bubbles.

Not yet a member? Sign up here and use the code EVENT10 to get £10 off your first month when subscribing to monthly membership. You’ll find the event registration link in your welcome email.

\For Members Investing

In data: The US investors most active in Europe

US VCs like Insight Partners and Sequoia are showing an increasingly big appetite for European startups.

So far in 2021, American investors have poured €10.1bn into Europe’s startups, easily surpassing the €9.3bn they invested in all of 2020.

So which US VCs are the most active in Europe? Which companies are they investing in? And which countries are they keen on?

Freya Pratty dives into the data.

If you're not yet a Sifted member, subscribe here for as little as £19 per month.

\News

Tiger Global strikes again

Paris-based Ankorstore, an online marketplace selling brands to independent shops, has just raised $100m in a Series B round led by Tiger Global and Bain Capital. According to Dealroom, that’s the second largest Series B round in France to date.

Despite the pressure retailers faced during the pandemic, the startup’s business tripled across the first four months of 2021.

Freya Pratty reports.

\Sponsored by Microsoft Advertising

The key to brand notoriety — native advertising

Native advertising — information-rich pieces of sponsored content — is all the rage. A 2019 study predicts the global market for native ads will be worth $400bn by 2025.

But it's also a highly competitive market, so it's crucial that brands nail their approach to get it right.

Find out how to ace native ads here.

Sifted Suggests

🤖 The risk of AI’s climate impact. It's shaping up to be a big year for AI startups. But are businesses and developers considering the environmental cost that comes with this opportunity? Mind Foundry CEO Brian Mullins shares his verdict.

🤔 Can fintechs spice up the secondary markets? Allowing staff at startups to sell their shares ahead of a liquidity event seems like a no-brainer. But it’s trickier than you’d think. Why? Ryan Weeks finds out.

🎙️ Clubhouse FINALLY launches on Android. The voice-based social network is rolling out to US users first — but isn’t Clubhouse already dying? Ronjini Joshua thinks so.

💡 What did Spotify learn by going public? Paul Vogel, CFO of the audio streaming platform, shares his takeaways on the company’s journey to the public markets via direct listing in 2018.

🦄 Bring in the unicorns. While Europe’s unicorn count is steadily increasing, it still lags quite far behind the US. Now, startup organisations across Europe are urging the EU to adjust policy in a plea to boost unicorn growth.

🪙 Glitchy crypto apps. The crypto trading boom is proving too much to handle for Dutch trading apps like Blox and LiteBit, with users citing bugged out platforms, big money losses and shoddy customer service.

Sifted Talks

Here’s what fintechs need to know about Gen Z | Online | May 19
How can fintechs win the hearts of youngsters? Discover what an expert panel from Revolut, gohenry and Mitek think. Moderated by Isabel Woodford.

Venture debt: everything you need to know | Online | May 26
Which businesses should consider venture debt — and when? Find out from speakers from Silicon Valley Bank, GoCardless and Accel. Moderated by Amy Lewin.

How Lithuania became the EU’s fintech hub | Online | June 3
Our panel, from the Bank of Lithuania, Curve and Sumup, share what other countries can learn from Lithuania's fintech successes. Moderated by Kit Gillet.

Sifted Members

In data: the big gender pay gap at some of the UK’s biggest startups

The top fintech VC portfolios, revealed

How long can fintech firms resist crypto FOMO?

US LPs are coming for UK VC funds

13 mobility startups that will boom this year, according to VCs

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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Sifted - Most active US VCs in Europe 💵

\Venture Capital

Raising babies and funds is hard

\A message from our sponsor Oracle NetSuite

The profit-building strategies to excel your startup

\Opinion

Doctorpreneurs: Here's how to deal with your critics

\For Members Sifted Access

Fintech special: Fireside chat with Sujata Bhatia, COO, Monzo

\For Members Investing

In data: The US investors most active in Europe

\News

Tiger Global strikes again

\Sponsored by Microsoft Advertising

The key to brand notoriety — native advertising

Sifted Suggests

Sifted Talks

Sifted Members

Older messages

Paid period leave? 🩸

Universities: sort out your spinouts 🎓

Europe now has 70 startup unicorns 🦄

Transforming epilepsy treatment 🧠

European vs US VCs 🥊

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