Sifted does proper reporting on startup Europe.
But what does that mean? Our mission is to do old fashioned journalism, which means building contacts, digging up the real story and explaining the tech and startup world to our readers.
But we also receive hundreds of story pitches every day, some of which are amazing but others are, well, not quite for us.
So if you want us to write about your company, report, founder or initiative, here is what the Sifted editorial team likes to write about and how to pitch to them.
Types of stories we cover
Data stories and lists
Our readers love a good list or an intriguing data story. But what data does Sifted want from you?
- We curate lists we think will be useful — like this one on 150+ female angel investors in Europe
- Or this piece on how much founders should pay themselves
- We also write about salary data — like this piece on how much German VCs get paid
We also include links to reports and surveys in our 3x a week newsletter. Share these with our editor Amy Lewin (amy@sifted.eu) or our deputy editor Eleanor (eleanor@sifted.eu).
Investigations
We are proud that in our short time we have already established an investigative reporting presence holding power to account. Such as:
- Inside the N26 staff exodus
- Events startup Pollen missing payroll and owing customers thousands.
- Burn rate, layoffs and funding struggles at Gorillas
If you have a story to tell about nefarious goings-on at your startup (e.g bullying or harassment, unfair hiring or firing practices, or toxic culture) or about your experience as a founder (e.g with untrustworthy investors or incompetent accelerators) — or anything else — please contact any of our reporters or Sifted's deputy editor Eleanor Warnock (eleanor@sifted.eu) who leads our investigations. We are all experienced journalists and, of course, never reveal our sources.
Alternatively, you can send tips to: fpw100@protonmail.com
News
We always thought that there was too much commoditised funding news in startup reporting. We were never convinced that "X company has raised X money to do X" was really what people wanted to read. Having said that, we do write a fair bit of news and we do write some fundraising news. So what news stories does Sifted want from you?
- An unusual business model or a trend that has entered Europe from abroad. Sojo's raise fell into this category; the press release was the raise, but the story was a small startup with an interesting business model.
- New funds when there's an interesting angle beyond the money raised — such as this piece on French VC Elaia's deeptech fund in partnership with a top research body in France.
Please note that we are a small team. If you want us to write about your announcement, the longer warning you give us the better. We definitely like getting a heads up about upcoming funding under embargo and organising interviews ahead of time.
Send news — and ideally exclusive news — to news@sifted.eu. All the editors get this email, so someone will pick it up.
Opinion Pieces
We love getting pitched ideas for opinion pieces that take a slightly controversial or unusual view on an element of the European startup world.
Please read this article to find out how to do this and what we are looking for.
Pitch ideas (but not pre-written pieces, please) to op-ed@sifted.eu.
Topics we are most interested in
Fintech
Financial services startups are some of the most exciting in Europe. Companies such as N26, Revolut and TransferWise have already gone a long way to reshaping the way we bank.
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We tell you what's happening across startup Europe — and why it matters.
Our recent fintech coverage includes:
- Is Europe the friendliest place for crypto?
- A data deep dive into European fintech during H1 2022
- Klarna's valuation slash
- Debt collection: there's a startup for that
We have a full-time fintech reporter, Amy O'Brien (amyobrien@sifted.eu), who is keen to hear your ideas.
Venture Capital
Like it or not, the VC industry is hugely important to European startups and tech, cutting across all sectors. We write about:
- New funds, like this one and this one
- Funding trends
- The top investors in Europe
We try to stop our site being flooded by the musings of VCs (they do like to muse) but we do like to hear — and challenge — their opinions.
Editor Amy Lewin (amy@sifted.eu) is the main point of contact (but it's also worth getting in touch with our local reporters too, see below) as well as our deputy editor Eleanor (eleanor@sifted.eu).
Healthtech
The healthtech space is booming in Europe — in June seed investment into the sector dislodged fintech's seed funding crown. And as the digital healthcare ecosystem that was consolidated during Covid grows, investors will be looking to divert their cash into the sector's rising stars.
Our recent healthtech coverage includes:
- Blood test startup Aware raises $15m seed round
- The "viagra of digital therapy" startup
- Femtech's fight against conventional French healthcare
Healthtech is covered by our Nordics correspondent Mimi Billing (mimi@sifted.eu) and reporter Kai Nicol-Schwarz (kai@sifted.eu).
Startup Life
We're intrigued by what goes on behind the scenes at fast-growing businesses, and cover everything to do with life at a startup.
We cover:
- Diversity issues
- The nuts-and-bolts of growing a business — such as building a team, building an inclusive culture and day-to-day people management
- Practical advice — like how to respond to social and political issues as a founder.
- Cultural trends in Europe — like pivot culture and bootstrapping.
Reporter Miriam Partington (miriam@sifted.eu) leads on Startup Life-related coverage and future of work. Often we cover this topic through opinion pieces from founders and investors.
Deeptech & AI
The deeptech sector — novel technologies that offer significant advances over those currently in use — is attracting huge interest. Leading companies in the sector have real potential to become world leaders, and there is big money going into them.
We're interested in:
- Big complex topics — like quantum computing and artificial intelligence
- The tech shaping the future of industry — like alt-dairy, vertical farming and robotics
- Startups to watch
Climate tech
The importance of climate tech in the fight against global warming seems more important every day. And in Europe there are a wave of startups catching investor attention. Our coverage has recently focused on:
Reporter Freya Pratty (freya@sifted.eu) leads our climate tech coverage, and writes our weekly climate tech newsletter.
European ecosystems
We also write about local ecosystems. We have a team of reporters across the continent who cover stories from their regions as well as writing stories about all the topics above.
The Nordics: Mimi Billing (mimi@sifted.eu) in Stockholm
Spain and Portugal: Tim Smith (tim@sifted.eu) in Barcelona
Germany: Miriam Partington (miriam@sifted.eu) in Berlin
Central and eastern Europe: Zosia Wanat (zosia@sifted.eu) in Brussels / Warsaw
France: Chris O'Brien (chrisobrien@sifted.eu) in France
This piece was last updated on July 15 2022.
