Early stage European FinTech deals include Monite, Unslashed Finance, Elucidate etc. We feature Q&As with Andrea Girasole of Billte and Matthias Klein of Opportunity Network.
FinTech Forum On Tour | US X EMEA on 18th Mar. 2021 (15:00 – 16:30 CET): hear from leading US- & EMEA-based investors and financial institutions on their changing investment and innovation priorities – and the opportunities for FinTech startups. Register here: http://ftfusa2021.eventbrite.com
If you are an early stage startup in Europe building the next big thing in FinTech, reach out to Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar.
7 Questions with Andrea Girasole of Billte
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Hi everyone, I am Andrea CEO & Co-Founder of Billte. I was born in Rimini 34 years ago from an entrepreneurial family active in the entertainment and gastronomic field.
I learn from an early age what it means to be an entrepreneur and especially the amount of work that goes with it; an entrepreneur never sleep J.
I had the chance and the opportunity to travel around the world also thanks to my sport which is my passion: baseball. I have been playing in several countries and baseball gave me the opportunity to meet people from different cultures, different backgrounds and speak different languages. Baseball brought me to Switzerland as well, to represent the Swiss national team (I hold the swiss citizenship thanks to my mother) and back then (2011) I have decided to start my working career here in Zurich, going from working as bartender in a club, my first job, to create my own fintech company 7 years later.
I consider myself a balanced and pragmatic person, my motto is “the difference between your dreams and the reality is action”.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-andrea-girasole-of-billte/
7 Questions with Matthias Klein of Opportunity Network
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
Throughout my professional career I have always been focussed on simplifying complicated processes. As an investment banker I have helped medium sized corporates using standardized derivative solutions in their hedging programs. And I have also helped many startups, especially Fintechs, especially in Europe and Singapore, to not just focus on over-engineering their products, but on creating real value for clients as well.
In my role as Country Director Germany for Opportunity Network I currently play a huge role in enabling entrepreneurial spirits in startups, business associations, banks and corporates with one another. Via Opportunity Network’s digital matchmaking platform CEOs and decision makers can post, find and connect with commercial, funding and acquisition deals worldwide, at any given time of the day.
Last but not least, I love cooking with my family & friends and consider my kitchen as an innovation accelerator.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-matthias-klein-of-opportunity-network/
Monite Raises €1.1M in Pre-Seed Funding
Monite, a Berlin, Germany-based finance management platform that automates the admin and accounting processes for SMEs, raised €1.1M in pre-seed funding.
Backers included Tomahawk VC, signals Venture Capital, InVentures and Runa Capital. Ex-Deutsche Bank board Ralph Müller, Postbank Board Member Lars Stoy, ex-Global Head of FX Trading and Sales at Commerzbank Alfred Schorno, former former Managing Partner for McKinsey Central Europe Cornelius Walter, General Partner of Acrobator VC Bas Godska and other top investors joined the round as angels.
The company intends to use the funds to improve the platform and open new product lines by the end of 2021.
monite-raises-euro-1-1m-in-pre-seed-funding.html
Unslashed Raises $2M in Funding
Unslashed Finance, a London, UK-based company that provides insurance products for crypto assets, raised $2M in funding.
Backers included Lemniscap, P2P Capital, Bitscale Capital, Chainlayer, and several angels, including Enzyme founder Mona El Isa, founder of Kyber Loi Luu, founder of Deversefi Will Harborne and founder of Argent Itamar Lesuisse.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach.
https://www.finsmes.com/2021/03/unslashed-raises-2m-in-funding.html
Berlin-based Elucidate raises €2.5 million to establish its financial crime risk benchmark
Today Elucidate, the financial crime risk scoring platform, today announced that it has raised €2.5 million in a pre-Series-A funding round led by Frontline Ventures.
Existing investors Seed X Liechtenstein, APEX Ventures, and Big Start Ventures also participated in the round. This brings the total Elucidate has raised in 8 months following an earlier funding round in July 2020 to over €5 million.
Rostocker Insurtech Hepster bekommt 8,4 Millionen Euro
5. März 2021: In seiner Series A hat das Rostocker Versicherungs-Startup Hepster etwa 8,4 Millionen Euro (10 Millionen US-Dollar) erhalten. Neu eingestiegen sind der Londoner Fintech-VC Element Ventures und der Pariser Sumup-Investor Sevenventure Partners.
London-based startup Countingup counts up £9.1 million in series A investment
Led by Framework Venture Partners and joined by Gresham House Ventures and Sage, Countingup has just closed a £9.1 million series A round.
The fintech startup offers a business current account with built-in accounting software solution. The two-in-one app simplifies bookkeeping and taxes for both the self-employed and accountants across the UK.
https://tech.eu/brief/london-based-startup-countingup-counts-up-9-1-million-in-series-a-investment/
Nextmarkets sammelt 30 Millionen ein – Staffbase und Bananatag fusionieren – Monite bekommt 1,1 Millionen
Der #DealMonitor, unsere Übersicht über Investments und Exits, bietet werktäglich alle Deals des Tages. Heute geht es um Nextmarkets, The Stryze Group, Monite, Forget Finance, Givetastic und Medieninsider sowie Staffbase & Bananatag.
Im aktuellen #DealMonitor für den 4. März werfen wir wieder einen Blick auf die wichtigsten, spannendsten und interessantesten Investments und Exits des Tages in der DACH-Region.
https://www.deutsche-startups.de/2021/03/04/dealmonitor-04-03-2021/
UK challenger bank Sterling raises $376M, now valued at $1,9B
Challenger banks continue to see huge infusions of cash from investors bullish on the opportunity for smaller and faster-moving tech-based banking startups to woo customers from their larger rivals. In the latest development, U.K.-based Starling announced that is has closed £272 million ($376 million at current rates), at a pre-money valuation of £1.1 billion.
This means that the round, a Series D, values the company at £1.372 billion ($1.9 billion) post-money.
Digital ID Verification Service IDnow Acquires identity Trust Management AG, a Global Provider of ID Software from Germany
IDnow, a provider of identity verification-as-a-servicesolutions, will be acquiring identity Trust Management, a global provider of digital and offline ID verification software from Germany.
IDnow confirmed that it would continue to maintain identity Trust Management’s Düsseldorf location and will retain its employees as well.
The acquisition of Identity Trust Management should help IDnow with further expanding into new verticals while offering its services to a larger and potentially more diverse client base in Germany and other areas.
Digital bank Starling achieves unicorn status
Following a £272m Series D funding round, Starling Bank has reached a valuation of £1.1bn and secured ‘unicorn’ status in the fintech startup market
Currently one of the fastest-growing and most popular banks in the UK – it has won ‘Best British Bank’ for three years consecutively since 2018 – Starling is also the first digital-only bank to reach profitability.
Now in its fourth year of operation, the company’s momentum doesn’t appear to be slowing: it has two million active accounts, lending exceeds £2bn, deposits have reached £5.4bn, and Starling gains a new customer approximately every 39 seconds.
https://www.fintechmagazine.com/banking/digital-bank-starling-achieves-unicorn-status
Scaling Enterprise FinTech | The Handbook
Scaling Enterprise FinTech brings together insights on the journey to scale – sales, (US) go-to-market, raising venture financing etc. – from the founders, investors and financial institutions behind Europe’s leading B2B FinTech scale-ups. Email contact (at) fintechforum.de if you would like to learn more or contribute to our upcoming Handbook (out in Mar. 2021), featuring proprietary research of ca. 65 scale-ups and Q&As with founders and investors.
http://www.fintechforum.de/sef/
Join us for Bar on The Block webinar on Thursday, March 4th to learn more about cryptocurrency derivatives.
About this Event
In this webinar, we’ll discuss one of the oldest forms of a financial contract- DERIVATIVES! We’ll deep dive into the types of crypto derivatives products, their common forms, policy, and regulatory regime. We’ll have an in-depth discussion on how derivatives are used in crypto trading, what kinds of Crypto derivatives can be traded both on traditional exchanges and regulated crypto exchanges, the biggest risks that traders face, and why investor interest seems to be surging in crypto-derivatives.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-insight-into-crypto-derivatives-tickets-137765609647
FinTech Forum On Tour | US X EMEA: Uncovering Opportunities Across the Atlantic
A year since the first lockdowns were announced, FinTech Forum goes on tour to the US, in partnership with SixThirty Ventures. Join us as we talk to leading financial institutions on both sides of the Atlantic to understand the topmost priorities and challenges that are shaping their innovation agendas. We discuss how they are fast-forwarding digitalization and engagement with FinTech innovators, and the opportunities this presents for B2B/ Enterprise FinTech startups across the globe.
Registration (subject to approval): http://ftfusa2021.eventbrite.com
Meet us at:
An Insight Into Crypto Derivatives, 4 Mar. 2021
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-insight-into-crypto-derivatives-tickets-137765609647
FinTech Forum On Tour | US X EMEA: Uncovering Opportunities Across the Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2021 http://ftfusa2021.eventbrite.com
Finovate Europe, 23-25 Mar. 2021
https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/
InsurTech Insights, 1-2 Sep. 2021, London
https://www.insurtechinsights.com/europe/
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de
Nagarro https://www.nagarro.com/en
Opportunity Network https://www.opportunitynetwork.com/fintech-forum
Money2020 Europe https://europe.money2020.com
InsurTech Insights https://insurtechinsights.com
Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/
FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com