Podcast

May 8, 2022

VC horror stories, NFT scams and Europe’s unicorn factory? What you've missed on The Sifted Podcast

Season two of The Sifted Podcast is well underway — here’s what you've missed so far


If you didn’t know already, we have a podcast — sponsored by Zendesk for Startups.

Every week, Sifted editor Amy Lewin and deputy editor Eleanor Warnock bring their dulcet tones to your airwaves with the latest from Startup Europe and the Sifted newsroom.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? Find us on Spotify, Apple and Google — and anywhere else you might listen to podcasts.

Here’s what you’ve missed from the last six episodes:

\Episode 5 | Claims of toxicity at Glovo: How ‘good vibes’ turned into a ‘nightmare’

We do love Eleanor — but this week we were honoured with a very special guest in her absence: journalist-turned-VP of strategy at grocery delivery startup Zapp, Steve O’Hear, who made his name at TechCrunch where he was a tech journalist for more than 10 years.

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We discuss The Family, France’s most famous — now infamous? — incubator whose cofounder Oussama Ammar was accused of embezzling €3m.

Our Iberian correspondent (and podcast producer) Tim Smith talks about his reporting on toxic workplace allegations at Spanish food delivery superstar Glovo. The allegations include ruthless management styles, frantic and poor decision-making and low employee morale and mental health.

Finally, we discuss the relationship between journalists and tech companies — and the explosive tweet that started the conversation. 

Listen here:


\Episode 6 | The metaverse sector actually making money

In episode six, we speak to reporter Freya Pratty about all things CO2 — from carbon capture to accounting — and ask: is it really possible to clean up our air with machines? 

Maija Palmer also talks about a dark horse metaverse application that’s got VCs flinging open their wallets, and we discuss one of the most important issues facing today’s tech industry: can you grow a delicious breakfast in a lab?

Listen here:

\Episode 7 | The NFT bros losing thousands on ape scams

“I’d say probably 70% of NFT people are out to scam,” says Franck Bossi, a French YouTuber who has been running a channel called NFT WatchDog for more than a year.

But how do the scams work? 

In episode seven we chat with writer Éanna Kelly about the wacky world of NFT scams

We also dial in Germany correspondent Miriam Partington, who talks about diversifying the investment landscape and the hot new German tech startups everyone wants to work for.

Listen here:

\Episode 8 | VC horror stories

In Episode eight we have a guest host — Sifted writer Éanna Kelly — who keeps the podcast host’s chair warm in Amy’s absence.  

We dive into the juicy investment news of the week, including new funds for university spinouts and Spanish deeptech. 

We also talk to Sifted cofounder John Thornhill about what it’s like to be an older entrepreneur after he published his lessons from founding Sifted in the Financial Times. 

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Finally, we chat with our journalist Kai Nicol-Schwarz about secondhand fashion marketplaces and VC horror stories. The latter is not to be missed, with everything from discrimination and meeting no-shows to arrogance and ghosting. 

Listen here:

\Episode 9 | The fintech targeting… seafarers?

For episode nine, Amy calls in from Riga to tell us about the Latvian startups she’s met at TechChill — turns out wind-turbine-fixing robots are big business. We also discuss the latest startup news, including the ‘world’s largest’ facility opening for cow-free milk and on-demand tailoring app Sojo’s raise. 

Fintech reporter Amy O’Brien then joins us to talk about the latest wave of fintechs targeting underserved communities, including migrants, international workers and… seafarers. 

Finally, Amy (Lewin — not O'Brien) interviews Nord Security cofounder and co-CEO Tom Okman about its recent mammoth $100m raise.

Listen here:

\Episode 10 | Wise, Bolt and Skype: How Estonia churns out unicorns

For episode 10 we're live at our first ever Sifted Sessions event in Tallinn, Estonia!

We get the lowdown on how a tiny country in the Baltics has created global companies like Skype and Wise. Amy is joined on stage by Sifted reporter Anisah Osman Britton, president of the Estonian Founders Society Kaidi Ruusalepp and founder of sustainable investment platform Grünfin Triin Hertmann.

And stay tuned for potential future live episodes of The Sifted Podcast, as we take our in-person Sessions events across Europe this year. 

Listen here:

If you missed our roundup of episodes one to four, you can catchup here. And if you liked this and want more, subscribe now to The Sifted Podcast on SpotifyApple and Google.