Startup Europe. Grown up reporting
There’s a new generation of entrepreneurs taking the European tech scene by storm.
From Madrid to Milan, Bucharest to Berlin, startup innovators are rewriting the economy’s rules and making waves across the continent. With some 98 cities producing at least one tech unicorn (so far) — Europe has created a decentralised Silicon Valley.
Sifted is the leading media brand for the European startup community. Backed by the Financial Times, our team of dedicated journalists spans the continent. Our unrivalled journalism sifts through the noise to give you breaking news, insightful analysis and actionable data.
We focus on the human dimension of entrepreneurialism — how the tough reality of running a startup so often diverges from the mythology; how successful startups have shaped inclusive internal cultures; and how some founders have spurned the VC route and bootstrapped their way to success.
Our mission is to be the critical friend of Europe’s startup community and to amplify and empower the founders, investors and startup operators driving innovation from the front.
John Thornhill
Founder / Editorial Director
Caspar Woolley
Founder / Executive chair
John is also the Innovation editor of the Financial Times, where he writes a regular, award-winning column on the impact of technology, hosts the weekly Tech Tonic podcast, and is the founder and editorial lead for the FT125 forum for senior business executives. In a 30-year career at the FT, John has been deputy editor, news editor, European edition editor, and bureau chief in both Paris and Moscow.
Caspar is a seasoned digital entrepreneur and intrapreneur who’s had fun starting businesses ranging from Johnlewis.com to Hailo the taxi app. He loves working at the intersection of the editorial, operational and digital worlds, and bringing great ideas to life in both the public and private sectors. He is also a Non-Exec Director at London’s UCLH hospital.
Bruce Macfarlane
CEO
Alley Yamoyany
CFO
Previously CFO for Digital Theatre and VP at IMG Events, Alley brings with her experience across the online media and live events landscapes, with a particular passion for the fast-paced and unpredictable environment a start up presents. Born in South Africa, she is staunch rugby supporter and will support England in any rugby match... other than when they play South Africa
Matthew Harrison
Head of Strategy and Planning
Laura Balboni
Senior People and Talent Manager
Matthew is a strategist with a background in International Human Rights Law. He previously worked for Deloitte Consulting in the UK, before moving to Norway, where he supported global media organizations with digital engagement. Matthew is passionate about using technology for good.
Blessing Omorodion
Operational Data Analyst
Mykaela Brewerton
office manager
Editorial
Amy Lewin
Editor
Eleanor Warnock
Deputy Editor
Amy is intrigued by the ‘human side’ of companies – because, as all founders know, people are the trickiest bit of any startup. She's particularly excited about the recent burst of initiatives to make the tech sector more enticing and accessible to everyone, and intrigued by the future of healthcare and cities. Previously, Amy spent three years covering startups as features editor at Courier magazine, where she also hosted and programmed talks and workshops.
Eleanor has more than a decade of experience in journalism and communications. She started her career as a correspondent in the Wall Street Journal’s Tokyo bureau and was communications manager at one of Europe’s largest VC firms, Atomico, before joining Sifted. She has an MBA from INSEAD.
Tom Nugent
Digital Editor
Mimi Billing
Senior Reporter
Tom is Sifted’s Digital Editor, focused on all aspects of the site, from SEO to newsletters and traffic growth. Prior to joining Sifted, Tom spent four and a half years covering the world of MBAs and business schools, and before that, he spent five of the coldest years of his life in Aberdeen, where he studied English followed by a Journalism master’s.
With a rapidly changing world, Mimi is intrigued to find out how new innovation can help create a sustainable future. Based in Stockholm she covers the Nordics as well as healthtech in Europe for Sifted. Previously she worked at the Swedish tech and business site Di Digital, where she hosted a number of events and podcasts.
Freya Pratty
Tim Smith
Freya is a senior reporter at Sifted. She covers climate tech and investigations. Freya's now based in London but previously worked for Sifted from Paris, where she studied. Before Sifted, Freya worked at Bloomberg and The Daily Star in Lebanon, as well as writing for places like the Guardian, the Financial Times and the Middle East Eye.
Tim started his career on the Guardian's tech weekly podcast, before becoming a producer at BBC World Service Radio. He's been reporting from Spain since 2017, working for BBC, Deutsche Welle, Pink News and Radio New Zealand. Tim is interested in how startups and innovation can address big issues like climate change, citizen participation and workers' rights.
Zosia Wanat
Kabir Agarwal
Zosia is a Polish native who worked as a reporter in London, Paris and Brussels. She joined Sifted from POLITICO, where she was a policy reporter. Before that she worked for MLex and the Financial Times. She speaks Polish, English and French.
Amy O'Brien
Reporter
Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Amy covers the busy world of fintech, as well as covering venture capital and the burgeoning Italian startup scene. She has been featured in the Financial Times, The Guardian, Reuters, and was most recently investment reporter at City AM. Amy started out in investor relations for Italian ecommerce startup Yoox in Milan.
Kai works across editorial and membership. He writes on a number of topics and engages with Sifted readers to produce community journalism. Kai’s also the port of call for any member enquiries and is part of the team that puts on member events.
Miriam Partington
Alex Oscroft
Subeditor and SEO Manager
Miriam is Sifted's Germany correspondent. She reports on the future of work, company culture and policy, and the behind-the-scenes life at startups. Miriam has been reporting from Berlin since 2018, and has written for publications such as Deutsche Welle, New Statesman, and Courier. She continues to write for independent art and design publications in Berlin and London.
Alex is Sifted's chief spelling and grammar disciplinarian, making sure that every article, report and marketing item we put out tells its story in a clear and gripping way. He also optimises the Sifted website to make sure more people can find our stellar journalism. He previously worked at The Times and Sunday Times.
Sadia Nowshin
Editorial Assistant
Anisah Osman Britton
Freelance Reporter
Anisah covers startup culture and is the co-author of our Startup Life newsletter. She's also the founder of women’s coding school 23 Code Street and director of storytelling at VC Calm Company Fund.
Commercial
Helen Seidenberg
Partnerships Director
Katie Healy
Head of advertising and sponsorship
Helen’s role at Sifted is to build the business through sponsorship and partnerships. Prior to Sifted, Helen worked for several different publishers, including a FTSE 250-listed powerhouse and a startup business intelligence firm. She’s also sat on the other side of the fence, at a marketing agency. Outside of work, Helen likes conjuring up her own (arguably questionable) business ideas and seeking out Europe’s best waterfalls.
Katie's role at Sifted is to help lead the commercial sales team to deliver engaging campaigns for clients. Katie has extensive experience in all forms of advertising and sponsorship working with a wide variety of clients. Outside of Sifted Katie has a great passion for live music, travelling and playing football (badly) with her two sons.
Anuj Jivabhai
Senior Business Development Manager
Casey Drabble
Anuj works alongside Sifted's commercial wing to bring sponsor-partners in front of Sifted's growing audience. Coming from a trade publishing background firmly outside of the startup world, he is interested in learning about some of Europe's most interesting young businesses & their potential to alter the society around them. Outside of work, you will find him amateurishly playing football, climbing or spending time with his massive family.
Casey comes from a background in publishing and advertising. Her role at Sifted includes developing partnerships and providing solutions for clients. Having studied French at university and previously worked in Paris, she is particularly interested in European affairs and culture. She's also a vintage aficionado and advocate of circularity in fashion.
Fran Thirley
Heidi Phelan
Business Development manager
Fran's role is to spread the word about Sifted's awesome commercial opportunities and work with clients to create engaging digital marketing and event campaigns. Prior to Sifted, Fran worked in B2B events sponsorship for conference companies in both London and the Middle East. Outside of work you'll find Fran training for a triathlon or tending to the plants on her balcony.
Juan Hincapie
Business development manager
Matt Hutson
Business Development Executive
Matt’s role at Sifted is to seek new business opportunities and develop early stage accounts. In his downtime he’s often on the football pitch or racing down the slopes.
Kam Ballu
Business Development executive
Ian Carpenter
Head of events
Ian heads up our events department and is responsible for Sifted's portfolio of in-person and virtual events. Prior to joining sifted Ian worked in the world of event tech and in commercial and leadership roles at fast moving event brands.
Fiona Craib
Event portfolio lead
Rachael Mckie
Event marketing lead
Sam Arman
Events marketing executive
Rebecca Hou
Senior Events Manager
Rebecca is an events manager with more than six years' experience in operating events around the world. She is a foodie and loves cooking!
Hannah Brewer
Digital project manager and content producer
Sophie Rowe
Conference Producer
Sophie has joined Sifted to help manage and expand our growing event portfolio. Prior to Sifted, Sophie worked for SaaStock as a conference producer, transitioning their global event portfolio from in-person to virtual. On weekends, you’ll find her trawling through racks of 2nd hand clothes or letting her hair down in soho.
Georgia Monella
Event operations executive
Daniel Omoniyi
Delegate Sales Executive
Daniel’s role at Sifted is to expand our growing event community. Coming from a sales & business development background, he is interested in learning more about how successful startups and investors think. Daniel spends his time playing football, designing apparel and taking pictures on his camera.
Steph Bailey
Head of content
Aruni Sunil
Junior writer
Steph's role is to write Sifted's branded content, as well as contribute to editorial. Prior to Sifted, she wrote features for CNN and freelanced for the BBC. She is particularly interested in writing about the climate and the ways tech can help humans out in the future. Her spirit animal is an octopus.
Tanya Maheshwari
Client services manager
Prior to Sifted, Tanya worked in the primary research industry focusing on project management and account growth in the South-East Asia region. She also managed projects and processes for social impact organisations in Hong Kong. Outside of work, she enjoys reading (particularly psychology related), dancing, volunteering and watching comedy shows.
Intelligence Unit
Chris Sisserian
Head of Intelligence
Rebecca Lipman
Intelligence Editor
A committed generalist, Chris has had a diverse career spanning journalism, ski instructing, foreign policy analysis, primary research for private equity funds and business development at software startups. He now leads the Sifted intelligence unit with a mission to provide the rapidly maturing European early stage startup ecosystem with the insight it needs. When not investigating tech trends he is most likely to be found in the alps either skiing, climbing or riding bikes.
Jonathan Sinclair
Intelligence Research Manager
Éanna Kelly
Contributing editor
Jonathan’s role is to develop Sifted Pro, contribute to Intelligence reports and briefings, and manage the roundtable calendar. He previously covered the UK’s fastest-growing private companies at The Sunday Times Fast Track. Jonathan is usually training for a marathon or doing his best Andy Murray impression outside of office hours.
Éanna is one of Sifted's report editors and an occasional writer on tech policy matters. Outside of work, he enjoys punting a tennis ball across a park for his dog to hare after.
Marie Mawad
Journalist, editorial strategist
Ruggero Di Spigna
Startup Analyst
Marie is based in Paris, where she’s covered tech and innovation for over 10 years, enjoyed a front-row seat to a flourishing startup ecosystem, and eaten her fair share of croissants. Previously at Bloomberg and Reuters, she’s obsessed with spotting the early signs of disruption. The rest of Marie’s brain is split between Verdi’s arias and disco tunes.
Ruggero has an academic background in Film, Television and Production that helped him to work for various companies as a producer of Television Ads. He continues to keep his interest in advertising as a hobby because after completing a Master in Management at Imperial College in London he became passionate about startups and the venture capital ecosystem. After an experience at Plug and Play Hamburg as a venture analyst, Ruggero will work together with the Sifted Intelligence team as a startup analyst.
Daria Dmytrenko
Federico Scolari
Intelligence Analyst
Our startup data analyst, Federico works on mapping the European startup ecosystem across the Editorial and Intelligence teams. Currently in Milan, he was previously studying in the UK. In his spare time, he's probably in the studio composing mellow melodies and sounds.
Moosa Saghir
Memberships Manager
Sophie Cottereau
Moosa’s role is to grow our most exclusive community - Sifted Pro, so it’s mutually beneficial for our members. Prior to Sifted, he helped grow the small business network for the Guardian and headed up donor engagement for Muslim Aid. He loves everything culture from theatre to live music and art exhibitions. Travelling is a passion of his, having travelled across most of Europe as a solo adventurer.
Josh Chanthrakumaran
Marketing
Molly Scarff
Marketing Manager
Nuno Patrocinio
Marketing assistant
Prior to Sifted Molly worked for Centaur Media, across a number of specialist marketing brands, supporting acquisition and retention. In her spare time she is either engrossed in a book or trying out a new London restaurant.
Jennifer Dodd
Product
Francesco Bellanca
Head of Product
Stuart Turner
Consultant Software Engineer
France's role is to build the best product possible for Sifted suers. He used to be a founder and ceo of a fintech and lectured at multiple unis in Europe. He loves data, cat gifs and talking about post-labourism and transhumanism.
Stuart has been a Software Engineer and Architect working in the media industry for over 13 years, previously working for the Financial Times. He's excited to be working with Sifted to build technology supporting their cutting edge journalistic mission.
Javier Romario
Software Engineer
Mitesh Patel
A self-taught South London web developer and devoted skateboarder working with Sifted to deliver web applications.
Mitesh's role involves working with the other engineers in building the Sifted platform. Prior to Sifted, Mitesh worked as a software engineer at FindMyPast and Mumsnet and also founded two technology startups in the logistics space.
Nicholas Baxter
Senior-end Engineer
Natalia Egorova
Front-end engineer
Nick’s role is to work as part of the tech team to build an ever more delightful experience for Sifted’s users. Previously he worked in publishing as a developer for ReedPop.
Francesco Marzotto
UX/Product Design
Stefano Frigerio
Product Analytics
Francesco's role as a Sifted intern centres on user experience and behaviour, employing market research and competitor analysis to inform new product ideas and features. A philosophy student focusing on environmental ethics, his interests include music-making, meditation, rock climbing and archery.
Stefano graduated in philosophy of mind and then moved to clinical psychology, pursuing his interest in neuroscience. Having a passion for computers, tech, data analysis and visualization, he found his way into the ranks of sifted, as a new Product Intern Analyst.
Euny Park
Product designer
Lexie Yu
Graphic/Product Design
Hopping between all kinds of designs: UI/UX, architecture, illustration, body art, 3D sculpting and sound visualization. Always in search for making things cool but also sweet for audience’s eyes. Loves plants and music for plants.
Sifted’s journalism covers the most transformative topics shaping Europe’s startup scene. We take you behind the headlines to showcase the stories that don’t always get the profile they deserve.
Our Reports and sector Briefings bring you up to speed on emerging markets, fast. We identify and surface companies in emerging areas of technology, giving you the digestible insight and deep-dive analysis you need to stay ahead of the competition.
Our aim is to empower the voice of startup Europe by providing a platform for the community to connect. We encourage conversations between like-minded peers — fostering collaboration and support via our Europe-wide networking events.
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