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Hi Sifted Reader,

When you think of a typical entrepreneur, what comes to mind — a 20-something whippersnapper, or someone in their 40s or 50s?

If it's the former, you might be surprised to know that a 50-year-old entrepreneur is almost twice as likely to create a high-growth startup than a younger rival. 

Today we dive into what it's like to be a founder over 40. Plus...

• How can startups stay on the right side of GDPR? 
• Meet Revolut, Wise and Sorare's favourite fraud-busting platform
• What do sustainability gurus mean by the triple top line? 

— Amy, fintech reporter & Amy, editor

All the best tech founders are 19-year-old whizz kids, right? Wrong.

Some of Europe's most talented founders are in their forties and fifties, and research suggests they might have a leg up over their younger counterparts when it comes to building successful companies. 

Naomi Ackerman finds out about life as an over-40 founder.

As fintechs funnel their energy into growth at all costs, not one is immune to the biggest problem in financial services: fraud.

Fraudsters are becoming more sophisticated than ever — and that's been good news for Seon.

The Hungarian startup, which uses machine learning to track people's "digital footprint" and detect fraud, just picked up $94m in Series B funding to expand globally.

But what's next? Amy O'Brien finds out.

This is one of the questions that’ll be answered at ViennaUP’s 2022 event, starting May 27. Experts will discuss and analyse different trends, opportunities and advancements in the tech field for mental health.

Click here to learn more.

If you live in the EU, you'll have likely come across the dreaded GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation. And as a business, you better be on top of it. 

The EU has so far levied €1.5bn in fines to companies that haven't complied with its data protection laws, and it turns out startups aren't as safe as you may have thought — Clubhouse has come into trouble, as has French healthtech Alan.

So how do you stay on the right side of the GDPR police?

Software companies have stolen European investors’ hearts since 2020, and in a digital ecosystem that prizes cloud computing above oxygen, everyone’s clamouring for a seat at the table. 

But how do you claim a slice of the now $56.2bn SaaS market successfully? 

Younim shares its top tips for startups in the sector. 

 👀 Will Smith slaps some money on the table... of a 3D design tool called Gravity Sketch, that is. The newly controversial actor is among the angel investors involved in the UK startup's $33m Series A led by Accel, with participation from GV and Kindred.

💵 A16z debuts its own take on an accelerator for early-stage entrepreneurs. It feels like everyone is launching their own accelerator right now, with Andreessen Horowitz joining the crowd by funnelling some of its seed fund into START — a programme that will offer early-stage founders up to $1m in equity, in exchange for a percentage of ownership, the total of which is yet to be disclosed. 

Our latest report focuses on the mainstreaming of crypto and the industry’s scramble to get to grips before its inevitable boom. With over 18k crypto tokens available globally, now’s the time to get to know.

Download it here.

🎋 How can startups implement the triple top line? In other words, how can you design products and businesses that are human-centric, mindful of the planet and profitable at the same time? Greta Monstavičė from Katalista Ventures shares some tips. 

📉 Emerging markets have been hit by a tech IPO slump, too. That's according to this deep dive, which shows that companies like India's Zomato and Brazil's Nubank have been suffering from the same public market reception as some of the headline-hitting New York and London startups that slumped almost immediately after their IPOs in the last 12 months.

Amy Lewin
Editor 

Get in touch with her at amy@sifted.eu
Or tweeting at @amyrlewin

Amy O'Brien

Fintech Reporter

Get in touch with her at amyobrien@sifted.eu 
Or @Amy_EOBrien

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