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March 28 · Issue #71 · View online
Steve's In The Know: Thoughts from a European tech insider.
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Takaab VLH from Siam Modular (VCO's Little Helper)
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In the technology industry, the cliche is that hardware is hard. And while that is undoubtedly true, in many ways, boutique makers have never had it so good. Access to low-cost manufacturing and components, better software for the entire stack, finance via crowdfunding, marketplaces and the advent of direct-to-consumer commerce, has helped to create a hardware renaissance. Hardware is also incredibly rewarding, at least from a creative point-of-view, something I’ve now experienced first-hand. This month I finally got to launch my first commercial hardware product, which has already generated a few thousand pounds in revenue. Nobody is going to get rich off this thing, but it’s gratifying to see an idea validated with actual paying customers (a concept that may seem alien to some readers of this newsletter!). In partnership with Siam Modular, a small Eurorack synthesiser company in Thailand, I co-designed “ VCO’s LIttle Helper” (VLH). It’s a tiny module that adds vintage sounds to a Eurorack synthesizer. It’s not an original idea in the purest sense, but - like many of the best music products - takes an old concept and refines it for today’s musicians. To celebrate the launch, and in the name of provenance marketing (I don’t even know if that’s a thing), we shot an 8 minute documentary about the collaboration. One fun part of the story is that I reached out to Pete at Siam Modular with the idea entirely cold, after I’d written a feature on Eurorack synthesisers for TechCrunch. Without ever meeting in person, we then developed the product from a back of the napkin sketch all the way to a commercial release. Little did we know at the time that it would all have to happen during the worst health crisis of a generation.
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Takaab VLH : VCO's Little Helper: The making of ...
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Steve O'Hear: The future of European tech - Thoughts in Between: exploring how technology collides with politics, culture and society
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A few weeks ago I recorded a podcast with Matt Clifford, co-founder of Entrepreneur First, the so-called ‘talent-first’ investor that backs founders pre-idea and helps them start companies. He also writes a regular newsletter called Thoughts in Between - and his new podcast is an extension of that. We discussed new social media apps like Clubhouse, regulation and European tech, Silicon Valley’s media backlash and its relationship with journalism, and my strong - albeit still forming - views on diversity and inclusion in the tech industry and where I think the D&I agenda in this part of the world needs to course correct (spoiler: it should be more anchored in equality of opportunity and social mobility). The podcast benefited from being recorded on a very relaxed Saturday. I think you’ll enjoy it.
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Gorillas, the on-demand grocery delivery startup, raises $290M and ‘surpasses’ $1B valuation
DARK STORES: Gorillas, the Berlin-HQ’d startup that promises to let you order groceries and other “every day” items for delivery in as little as 10 minutes, has raised $290 million in Series B funding, at a valuation that surpasses $1 billion.
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Ribbon wants to make it easier for product teams to interview users
PRODUCT: Everybody says they want to build user-centric companies and products, but how exactly is that achieved? Talking and listening to users, of course — a task that is both unnecessarily time-consuming and cumbersome to organise, according to Axel Thomson, a former product manager at U.K. recipe-box subscription unicorn Gousto.
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Digital banking solutions provider Meniga closes additional €10M investment
FINTECH: Meniga, the London fintech that provides digital banking technology to leading banks, has closed €10 million in additional funding. The round is led by Velocity Capital and Frumtak Ventures.
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Clubhouse UX teardown: A closer look at homepage curation, follow hooks and other features
PRODUCT: UX expert Peter Ramsey and TechCrunch reporter Steve O'Hear discuss some of Clubhouse’s UX challenges as it continues to onboard new users at pace while it strives to create enough stickiness to keep them active.
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Swedish fintech Zaver raises $5M to bring cardless payments and BNPL to ‘durables’ sector
FINTECH: Zaver, a Swedish fintech that enables merchants to accept cardless payments and offer buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) as an option, has raised $5 million in new funding.
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Saleor scores $2.5M seed round for its ‘headless’ e-commerce platform
FUNDING: Saleor, a Poland and U.S.-based startup that offers a “headless” e-commerce platform to make it easier for developers to build better online shopping experiences, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding.
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Fulfilment startup Cubyn raises €35M to expand across Europe
FUNDING: Cubyn, the Paris-based logistics startup that lets e-merchants outsource fulfilment and delivery logistics, has raised another €35 million in funding.
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Dija acquires Cambridge-based Genie to expand its 10-minute grocery service across UK
DARK STORES: Dija, the London-based grocery delivery startup backed by Blossom Capital, Creandum and Index Ventures, has acquired Cambridge, U.K.-based Genie, in what looks in part like an acqui-hire.
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Wise accuses former Brazil banking partner of smear campaign after ‘unfounded’ accusations of fraud
FINTECH: Wise, the London-headquartered company that made its name offering international money transfers and is reportedly planning an IPO, has accused its former banking partner in Brazil of a “smear campaign” after allegations of fraud — claims that Wise says are “false and unfounded.”
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London’s Jiffy picks up £2.6M seed to enter the grocery dark store race
DARK STORES: Another online grocery delivery and “dark store” operator breaks cover today: London-based Jiffy, which aims to deliver fresh groceries and household essentials in around 15 minutes, has raised £2.6 million in seed funding as it readies for launch.
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New challenger Ikigai combines digital banking and wealth management
FINTECH: Ikigai, a London fintech founded by former McKinsey partners, thinks there’s room in the crowded challenger market for a new premium offering that combines digital banking with wealth management.
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Wise’s Taavet Hinrikus and Teleport’s Sten Tamkivi partner in new investment firm — just don’t call it a VC fund
VENTURE: Taavet Hinrikus, the first employee of Skype and co-founder of fintech giant Wise (formerly TransferWise), is teaming up with Teleport co-founder and current Topia CPO Sten Tamkivi to create a new investment vehicle.
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Zego, the tech-enabled commercial motor insurer, raises $150M at $1.1B valuation
INSURTECH: Zego, the insurtech that got its start by offering flexible motorbike insurance for gig economy workers but has since expanded with a range of tech-enabled commercial motor insurance products, has raised $150 million. Leading the London-based company’s C round — giving it a $1.1 billion valuation and a unicorn status — is DST Global.
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Cosi raises €20M for its ‘full-stack’ approach to short-term rentals
PROPTECH: Cosi Group, a Berlin-based startup offering an alternative to boutique hotels and managed short-stay apartments, is disclosing €20 million in new investment. Backing the round is Vienna-based Soravia, a leading real estate group in German-speaking countries.
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Backed by Blossom, Creandum and Index, grocery delivery and dark store startup Dija launches in London
DARK STORES: Dija, the London-based grocery delivery startup, is officially launching today and confirming that it raised £20 million in seed funding in December — a round that we first reported was partially closed the previous month.
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Countingup closes £9.1M for its business current account with built-in accounting features
FINTECH: Countingup, the U.K. fintech offering a business current account with built-in accounting features, has closed £9.1 million in Series A investment.
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Flink, the Berlin-based grocery delivery startup that operates its own ‘dark stores’, raises $52M
DARK STORES: The on-demand grocery delivery industry in Europe (and beyond) continues to heat up amidst the pandemic, including a plethora of startups taking a vertical approach by operating their own delivery only — or “dark” — stores.
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Humaans raises $5M seed to make it easier for companies to on-board and manage staff
FUNDING: Humaans, a London-based HR startup, has raised $5 million in seed funding to accelerate the development of its employee on-boarding and management platform.
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Klarna confirms new $31B valuation
FINTECH: Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later behemoth and upstart bank, has raised $1 billion in new funding at a post-money valuation of $31 billion. That sees the company retain the crown as the highest-valued private fintech in Europe.
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Sources: Lightspeed is close to hiring a new London-based partner to put down further roots in Europe
SCOOP: Update: Murphy has now confirmed his appointment in a tweet. Original story follows below… Lightspeed Venture Partners, the well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has backed the likes of DoubleClick and Snapchat, is in the midst of hiring a second London-based investment partner as it looks to put down further roots in Europe.
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Katana raises $11M Series A to be the SaaS powering ‘manufacturing entrepreneurs’
FUNDING: Katana, an Estonian startup that has built manufacturing-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for SMBs, has raised $11 million in Series A funding.
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Gophr, the UK last-mile delivery company, picks up £4M funding
FUNDING: Gophr, a U.K.-based last-mile delivery provider, has raised £4 million in funding as it looks to invest in its product off the back of 300% revenue growth during the last 12 months.
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VC: Can’t you replace doctors with AI?
Me: I think AI will replace VCs way before doctors
VC:
Me:
VC: I’ve a hard stop at 2:37pm
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Access All Areas: Designing Accessibility From Day One | TC Sessions: Justice 2021
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I recently moderated a panel for TechCrunch Sessions: Justice – on how to design for accessibility. When managing editor Henry Pickavet asked me if I wanted to moderate, I initially hesitated: I never want to be the disabled journalist covering disability tech. At the same time, Henry and I both agreed that I could probably moderate the topic better than most people and so my ego got the better of me. I was quite tired on the evening of recording, but, luckily, all three panelists had plenty of interesting things to say.
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Have feedback or something to say? Hit reply. I answer every single ITK email (as long as it isn’t a pitch). Be kind to each other, Steve
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