View this email in your browser

Hi Sifted Reader,

In today's newsletter, we take an in-depth look at the situation at speedy grocery company Gorillas, where things might not be quite what they seem. As well as that...

Why CPTOs shouldn't be the norm
London's startups to watch
Monzo's latest results
What traditional retail can learn from ecommerce

\Consumer

Gorillas: The new WeWork?

On-demand grocery company Gorillas hit a billion dollar valuation in a record-breaking nine months after its launch. It’s now got 10,000 employees and has raised over €300m in funding.

But it’s not all rosy. The company’s been rocked by protests and accused of conducting arbitrary firings, exploiting its riders and running a hostile environment at its HQ. Others have compared its story to the rise and fall of WeWork.

We spoke to current and former employees to find out more.

\Sifted Talks

Preparing for an exit – IPO or sell?

Join our next Sifted Talks to hear from Rosh Wijayarathna, head of corporate finance at Silicon Valley Bank, Giles Palmer, former CEO at Brandwatch, Annalise Dragic, principal at Sapphire Ventures and Felix Leuschner, former founder & CEO of Drover, on how to make a timely exit.

Join the discussion on Wednesday .

\Startup Life

Why CPTOs shouldn't be the new normal

Stephanie Leue, cofounder of edtech djeeny, and her husband Frank Leue, head of mobile services at Flaschenpost, could be their own little C-suite. Frank's a former CTO and Stephanie has 14 years experience as a CPO.

They've got strong opinions about why it doesn't work to combine the two roles into a CPTO, saying it should be the exception, not the norm.

Find out why.

\Rankings

The London startups and scaleups to watch in 2021

So far this year London startups have raised a record €11.8bn from VC funds, more than the €14.5bn in all of 2020.

But which are the most exciting startups and scaleups based in the city? Which are the ones to watch in 2021? Our team of experts at Sifted have chosen a list of more than 130 startups and scaleups we think you need to know about.

See the list.

\Fintech

The key takeaways from Monzo's annual results

Digital bank Monzo saw £114m in pre-tax losses last year according to the company’s annual report for 2020–2021.

The digital bank saw similar losses to the year before, but insisted it would be profitable by 2022. For the second time, Monzo’s accountants said there was “material uncertainty” over the company’s future.

What else did we learn from the results? And how did it compare to rivals?

\In partnership with Checkout.com

Retail needs to innovate to stay relevant — here’s how

During Covid-19, brick and mortar stores were left with two options: move business online or lose customers. The next hurdle: now life's resuming, how can retailers keep customer attention?

We asked ecommerce experts from Checkout.com, Klarna, Vinted, Depop, Trustpilot, Papier and Estrid.

Here's what they have to say.

News that Matters

🇹🇷 Trendyol, a Turkish ecommerce company, has become the country's latest decacorn, after closing its latest funding at a $16.5bn valuation.

🤑 Tenderly, a Serbian startup running an Ethereum blockchain development platform, has raised €12.8m in new funding. The round was led by Accel.

💵 Fabric Ventures, a Luxembourg-based VC, has closed $130m for its 2021 fund, $30m of which is coming from the European Investment Fund (EIF).

🌴 Exoticca, a Barcelona-based startup working on multi-day package tours, has raised €25.2m led by 14W and Mangrove Capital Partners.

🕵️ GCHQ, the UK's spying headquarters, is to get a new cyber-oriented tech startup campus next door to it. Factory, the company that developed large scale tech campuses in Berlin and Lisbon, is set to work on the new campus.

📦 Storebox, a Vienna-based startup working on logistics and warehouses, has raised €52m. The company says it's the first digitised self-storage solution in Europe.

Sifted Suggests

⛪ Oxford’s tech scene is seeing booming investment, a new report shows. The amount of VC going into the city's companies has doubled in the last year. This article runs through the city's startups.

👩 The most influential women in tech. Check out this longlist of the UK's most influential women working in the tech sector in 2021.

Events

How not to lose customers | Online | August 19
This Sifted Talks is all about measuring and preventing customer churn. Our panel of experts will discuss how startups can build customer loyalty.

Are we ready for mass electrification? | Online | August 26
From smart grids to EV batteries, electrification is a promising area for clean energy. But what roadblocks does the sector face? Join our next Sifted Talks to find out.

The FTWeekend Festival returns — and you’re invited | Join us at Kenwood House Gardens, London & Online | September 4
Join impressive speakers — including award-winning author Ian McEwan and AstraZeneca lead scientist Sarah Gilbert — at Kenwood House Gardens or online.

Sifted Opinion

Founders, you don’t have to be CEO

Louis Saha: On the power of the right partner

10 questions to ask before joining a startup

Have an idea for an opinion piece for Sifted?

Amy Lewin
Deputy Editor

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
She loves a bit of reader feedback.

Freya Pratty
News Reporter

Send her your news at freya@sifted.eu
Or find her (occasionally) tweeting @FPratty

What would you like to read about in the next email?

Send us your suggestions

Follow us on social

SIFTED (EU) LTD

Huckletree Shoreditch

18 Finsbury Square

London, EC2A 1AH

United Kingdom

Add us to your address book

Want to tailor what you receive from us?
You can update your preferences to manage your newsletter and report subscriptions, or you can unsubscribe from Sifted if you never want to hear from us again.

Sifted - Monzo's latest financials 💸

\Consumer

Gorillas: The new WeWork?

\Sifted Talks

Preparing for an exit – IPO or sell?

\Startup Life

Why CPTOs shouldn't be the new normal

\Rankings

The London startups and scaleups to watch in 2021

\Fintech

The key takeaways from Monzo's annual results

\In partnership with Checkout.com

Retail needs to innovate to stay relevant — here’s how

News that Matters

Sifted Suggests

Events

Sifted Opinion

Older messages

The breakout fintechs of 2021 🔍

Death to bad meetings 📅

Don't hire with your gut 🙄

Raising a seed round? Good luck 😔

Hottest startups in France 🇫🇷

You Might Also Like

The Founders Guide to Listening to Your Customers

A one-man e-comm brand with $1.1M in revenue

We’re LIVE NOW!

🗞 What's New: A copywriting framework that converts

How to accelerate growth by focusing on the features you already have

Start Your Ecommerce Business Summit: Day 2

Are VCs and founders getting along?

[Start Your Ecommerce Business Summit] 12 hours to access Day 1 replays

Join Newsletter Lovers

Litelytics, Microns, backl.io backlink builder, CareerPage, Nexa, and more