Analysis

December 19, 2022

What do founder photos say about society? Sifted’s competition is back

You thought you’d seen the last of us, didn’t you?


Georgina Ustik

7 min read

Founded in 2017, the startup is still in bee-ta. Get it???

After publishing three viral (well, depending on your definition) editions of our founder photo takedown, we’re back with our competition where we pick apart the PR photos of startup Europe’s greatest minds. These competitions are based off of completely arbitrary, yet somewhat scientific, criteria — so don’t @ us if you don’t like the results.

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Clerkenwell Health
Your man on the left is a folksy singer-songwriter, whose acoustic version of "Poker Face" got big on TikTok. The guy on the right is a house DJ who will only perform with an accompanying seizure-inducing light show. And the guy in the middle is "cool" Christian rock (some of his songs have swear words)
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FreezeM. Three cofounders in lab coats stand around a person in a dark coat and a full-size fly mask
Founded in 2017, the startup is still in bee-ta. Get it???
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Hometree. Two cofounders sit on a doorstep in front of a bright yellow door
It's giving: "Excuse me sir, do you have a moment to talk about Jesus Christ?"
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Crispy Fantasy
Is the guy on the right ok?
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Smartex
Again, I have to ask: Is the guy on the right ok?
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Basecamp Research
After raising a $20m Series A round, the founders went on a celebratory hike, and were never seen again.
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The founders of London-based vegan food delivery startup Planty.
Being a founder is cut throat. The same attitude was brought to this picture selection.
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The founders of German space tech startup ConstellR
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The founders of Xceed, the Spanish B2B marketplace.
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