What makes Sweden so good at fintech? 💸

View this email in your browser
Hi Sifted Reader,

There's a Swedish fintech taking the UK by storm — and it's not Klarna. Why is Sweden so good at creating fintech exports? Find out below, plus...
  • Why VCs should start backing worker co-operatives
  • How startups can fix the dirty 'last mile'
  • Why central and eastern European tech is booming

\Sustainability

How can startups fix the dirty 'last mile'?


Cardboard boxes have been piling up in our homes like nothing else throughout the pandemic. That’s an awful lot of parcels — and an awful lot of diesel vans ferrying them around.

What’s the alternative? And how can startups help?

\Our latest report

Is crypto the future? 


You might think spending $1.7m on a JPEG is mad. But in the future, it might feel exactly the same as buying an expensive car or jewellery. 

These crypto-powered purchases aren’t just here to stay — many believe their importance will grow exponentially. Delve into the world of crypto and NFTs in Sifted’s new wealthtech report. 

Download it here.

\Venture Capital 

Tech investors should start backing worker-owned co-operatives


Data shows that worker-owned co-ops are 26% more likely to survive the first five years than other startups. For co-ops that are able to attract investment that figure moves up to 42% — although very few have managed to bag funding from private investors.

But some VCs are starting to pursue these kinds of deals. So how do they invest? And what benefits does it bring?

Tim Smith investigates.

\For Members Fintech 

This Swedish fintech is taking the UK by storm — and no, it’s not Klarna

Sweden is something of a fintech Mecca, having spawned the likes of Klarna, Tink and iZettle. And now, the country is lining up a new generation of fintech stars.

Among them is Gothenburg’s Juni. It's only a year old, but it’s already gone global and has investors clambering.

So why is Sweden so good at creating fintech exports? 

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

\Venture Capital

Central and eastern European startups are raking in the money


The central and eastern European startup ecosystem is booming. Tech companies from the region are now valued at more than €186bn, a 19-fold increase since 2010 – and 2021 is expected to be their most lucrative year yet.

Where has their success come from and does it show any signs of slowing?

Kit Gillet reports.

\Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank

Bouncing back from failure: Four bits of advice for phoenix entrepreneurs

A phoenix entrepreneur sees their business burn to the ground but instead of being defeated by it, they rise from the ashes, take what they’ve learnt and do it again. 

But for those founders who are trying to start again, what can they do differently the next time round?
 
Here are four tips.

News that Matters

🚑 The next wave of speedy delivery. Mayd, a German startup, delivers medicines to people's homes within 30 minutes. It's just launched, and just raised a $15m seed round too.

🖥️ Funnel, a no-code tool for marketers, has raised $66m in a "pre-IPO" round. Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund (AP4) and Stena Sessan co-led the round.

🚚 Trustrace, a Stockholm-based startup that runs a platform for supply chain transparency, has raised a €5m Series A round led by Industrifonden and Fairpoint Capital. 

🧍 HR platform Hibob has raised $150m, giving it a $1.65bn valuation. General Atlantic led the round.

🎼 Paris-based Stage 11 has raised 5m in a round led by Otrium Capital. The company wants to "reimagine music for the metaverse".

🚗 Humn, a London-based insurtech, has raised 11.9m in a Series A round led by BXR Group and Shell Ventures. The company offers insurance for fleets of cars.

Sifted Suggests

💰 'The Duolingo of finance’. Meet the sisters who quit their jobs to start a new financial literacy app for women — and they're already looking to go global.

👩 How to hire your C-suite. Choosing the right additions to your executive team can be difficult — Kaarel Kotkas, CEO of Estonian unicorn Veriff, shares his experience.

Sifted Newsletters

Startup Life: Weekly on Wednesdays, featuring Q&As with top folk from Kry, Gousto and Glovo. Sign up here.
Sustain: Weekly on Thursdays, covering the news to know on the sustainability sector. Sign up here.
Future Proof: A weekly briefing on corporate innovation around Europe. Sign up here.
Fintech: Weekly on Tuesdays, covering what's hot — or not — in fintech. Sign up here.
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
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
LinkedIn
Copyright © 2021 SIFTED (EU) LTD, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in to our newsletters

Our mailing address is:
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.

Older messages

How many startups have a woman on their board? 👎

Thursday, October 14, 2021

Insurtech startups to watch | VCs turn investment banker | Startup board pay and diversity data | Personio raises $270m View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Today's star of the show is

Visionrare: What went wrong? 😳

Monday, October 11, 2021

Uni spinouts, here's a fund for you | OKRs: 101 | Upcoming Sifted Talks View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Visionrare had a fun time launching its fantasy startup investing game last

Top green deals last quarter 🌳

Friday, October 8, 2021

Europe's AI recruitment bias problem | 14 smart city startups to watch View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Looking to relocate and enter the world of the digital nomad? In today's

Fantasy football, but for VC investing 💸

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

A new startup investing game | Gorillas is in trouble again | Why the Amazon aggregator industry could crash View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, We've got a new columnist here at

Have purpose, get $$$ 🤑

Monday, October 4, 2021

Blockchain startups to watch | Is now CEE's golden crowdfunding moment? | The Olympian turned femtech founder View this email in your browser Hi Sifted Reader, Figures in Revolut's first gender

You Might Also Like

These founders realized their bot was unsafe — and actually shut it down

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

A parable about responsibility in the AI age Platformer Platformer These founders realized their bot was unsafe — and actually shut it down A parable about responsibility in the AI age By Casey Newton

🗞 What's New: The ultimate guide to making AI games in Cursor

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Also: Hitting $35k/mo and 1M+ followers ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

BSSA #117 - Underrated method to break your growth plateau

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

March 25, 2025 | Read Online Hey! Some people can't attend The Wide Event anymore so there are places available (1 as I'm writing) So grab your ticket if you want to be in Paris with 200 other

"Every good idea is already taken."

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

I saw this post on Reddit the other day. And it really bummed me out… It bummed me out because it's a common excuse I hear from would-be builders: “It's too late.” “Every good idea is already

✨ New: Get back to posting with Feeds

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Generate content instantly with our newest feature. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

[CEI] Chrome Extension Ideas #183

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

ideas for developers, LLM, Calendar, and Verizon ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Profit = leverage (lessons from a founder)

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

2 insights from an agency exit ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

🇨🇳 You think China has the cheapest suppliers?

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Up to 25% tariffs on Chinese goods can cut deeply into your margins. Hey Friend , Here's what most founders don't realize: ❌ Your supplier sets their pricing. But that pricing is always

How to ship like a startup

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Seven lessons from the story of Figma Slides ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

ClearScore teases London IPO

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

+ Daphni closes €200m for new fund; water tech startups to watch View in browser Sponsored by BVCA Author-Martin by Martin Coulter Good morning there, London has been struggling to persuade tech