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Hi Sifted Reader,

Happy Wednesday! We've got a particularly fun edition for you today.

How Hinge dominated the dating scene
Founders-turned-supermodels?
The top VC firms to work with in Europe
Startups IPO, so why shouldn't VC firms?
...and Europe's latest unicorns

\Consumer

A date with Hinge’s Justin McLeod: Lessons from growing an international business in love

Since its launch in 2013, the dating app Hinge has facilitated over 30m romantic meetups and ranks among the top three most-downloaded dating apps in the UK, US and Australia.

But it's not always been so rosy. Hinge has weathered near-bankruptcy, countless investor cold shoulders, multiple relaunches, a pandemic-induced dating hiatus and serious questions about user safety and race.

Sifted's Isabel Woodford sat down with founder Justin McLeod to discuss its journey.

\Our latest report Fintech Unwrapped 2.0

How the payments landscape is changing

Payment processing is being flipped on its head — but which companies are paving the way? Find out in the Fintech Unwrapped 2.0 report.

Download it here.

\Startup Life

The secret to great founder photos, according to Sifted

Funding rounds are a dime a dozen as European tech continues to have its best year ever. And with each fundraise there's yet another founder photo. But what makes a truly great founder photo? And why do so many get it wrong?

Armed with a peer-reviewed methodology and scientifically-backed criteria (we jest), we've chosen the very best pouts, poses and props from the founders of companies like Klarna and Wise.

Could these founders be Europe's next supermodels?

\For Members Venture Capital

The top VCs in Europe, according to founders

Sifted is always interviewing investors on their top startups to watch — but now we're turning the tables. Which are the best VC firms to work with, and why?

With help from VC review platform Landscape, we've listed the best-rated VC firms in Europe (as assessed by founders who've pitched to or worked with them) — and you might be surprised to find some big names missing.

Who made the top 10?

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

\Opinion

Startups IPO. Why shouldn't VCs?

This week VC firm Forward Partners announced its intention to list in London. It'll join a small pack of listed VCs that also includes Draper Esprit, Augmentum and Eurazeo.

The aim of listing is seemingly to make it easier for individual investors to get exposure to venture capital, while making it easier for the firm to access a larger pool of funding. But is it a good move? And is there a trend here?

Sifted's resident columnist Nicolas Colin dives in.

\Sifted Talks

The state of UK startups

All too often, a country’s first city steals the spotlight — and London is no exception.

That’s why we’re hosting the UK Ecosystem Assembly on July 14, a full day of virtual panels zooming in on the country’s smaller ecosystems, covering everything from how to use local government resources to setting up a social enterprise.

Learn more about our free event here.

News that Matters

🇫🇷 France: Europe's most startup-friendly country? The French government has expanded its tech talent visa scheme and is pushing to bring expat talent back into the country, as well as C-suite level foreign applicants. But what's actually changing? Freya Pratty reports.

👩 A win for women in fintech. Moneyhub, led by Samantha Seaton, has announced an $18m raise — one of the biggest female-led rounds in European fintech thus far. Isabel Woodford takes a look at the other female fintech founders who've raised big rounds here.

💳 Pleo's popping. The newest unicorn in Europe's stable is fintech Pleo, which became Denmark's eighth unicorn after a $150m Series C round — co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Thrive Capital — that values the company at $1.7bn. So what are its plans?

🍌 Gorillas: Europe's new fintech to watch? Finance Fwd and Capital.de have access to internal business presentations which reveal the speedy delivery service's future plans, including a credit card offering and discount programmes. Is this a new super app in the making — or a sign that it's really struggling to make the numbers add up?

🏠 ManoMano raises $355m. The French DIY, home improvement and gardening marketplace has received backing from Dragoneer, Temasek, General Atlantic, Eurazeo and Bpifrance — and is now valued at $2.6bn.

Sifted Suggests

👑 From tech royals to real royals, this Brussels-based coding school and incubator is buzzing. Founded by school dropout Ibrahim Ouassari, MolenGeek has received support from the King of Belgium, President Macron and the CEO of Alphabet — and on top of that, it's supporting young people in Molenbeek, the second-poorest municipality in Belgium.

⌛ Preparing for Freedom Day. Abby Wallace from Maddyness explores how tech startups such as ServedUp are helping the hospitality industry recover — just as all Covid-19 restrictions are set to be removed in the UK.

💰 French funding rounds. Alexandre Dewez has analysed all of the funding rounds in France this year. Nine new startups have reached a €1bn+ valuation and US investors are starting to edge into the market.

☕ Pret purchasers are giving us great data about Londoners' activity post-lockdown. Londoners will travel to the shops, but not to work, according to weekly data Bloomberg is collecting from the sandwich chain. Check out this fascinating interactive piece which maps purchases across London, including in the City and Canary Wharf.

\Jobs

We're hiring!

We're growing our marketing team, based in London — and we're looking for creative and energetic folk to fill several positions.

If you just love social media or have a real thing for growing membership businesses, can't get enough of referral schemes or are fascinated by customer retention, then we want you!

Check out all the roles here.

The latest on European unicorns

Europe's unicorns: the full list [Member]

Online grocer Rohlik raises €100m and becomes a unicorn

UK-based Tractable hits unicorn status as insurtech space heats up

There are now 30+ fintech unicorns in Europe. Who are they?

Europe now has 70 startup unicorns

A third of UK unicorns are founded by ethnic minorities

Michael Stothard
Editor

Get in touch with him at michael@sifted.eu
Or find him tweeting @MStothard

Isabella Pojuner
Editorial Intern

Get in touch with her at isabella@sifted.eu
She tweets climate and crypto @ipojuner

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Sifted - Founders' photo hall of shame 📸

\Consumer

A date with Hinge’s Justin McLeod: Lessons from growing an international business in love

\Our latest report Fintech Unwrapped 2.0

How the payments landscape is changing

\Startup Life

The secret to great founder photos, according to Sifted

\For Members Venture Capital

The top VCs in Europe, according to founders

\Opinion

Startups IPO. Why shouldn't VCs?

\Sifted Talks

The state of UK startups

News that Matters

Sifted Suggests

\Jobs

We're hiring!

The latest on European unicorns

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