The early stage players raising funding this week include Sherpany, Lifted, Radix DLT etc. We also feature Q&As with Paula Blazquez Solano of InnoCells (Banco Sabadell) and Bernadette Wijnings of Blanco Services
Meet the first set of startups and investors who will be on stage at the 12th FinTech Forum, on 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt- click on their names to read our Q&A with them.
KlickOwn: blockchain-enabled platform offering a superior real estate investing experience for everyone
CommneX: a digital brokering platform for credit- and deposits from municipalities and municipal enterprises
Finteum: a platform for interbank intraday lending, enabling treasurers to borrow and lend for hours at a time
We are pleased to have leading investors on stage, sharing investment trends and opportunities in their space, including Astrid Freier, Partner, DACH, Vidici Ventures, Paula Blazquez Solano, Head of Investments at InnoCells/ Banco Sabadell, Manuel Silva Martinez, Partner, Head of Investments, Santander InnoVentures and Daniel Andemeskel, Head of Innovation at Universal Investment.
If you are a startup- or know one- that is building the next big thing in FinTech, apply to present at the 12th FinTech Forum, 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt: email contact (at) fintechforum.de or reach out to us via LinkedIn: Frank Schwab or Samarth Shekhar. Investors & corporates: register here directly http://ftf12.eventbrite.com
7 Minute Pitch Template Essentials
In the past 7 years we at FinTech Forum have evaluated over 3,500 pitches and given a lot of feedback. More than 350 FinTech startups have presented their business models in 7 minutes each.
From this we developed a template. We recommend that all founders cover at least the following eight themes in their presentation.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-minute-pitch-template-essentials/
7 Questions with Paula Blazquez Solano of InnoCells (Banco Sabadell)
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
My name is Paula Blazquez, I lead the Corporate Investment Vehicle of Banco Sabadell, the 4thlargest private bank in Spain. At InnoCells, we invest in Fintech related startups across the globe, from seed to series A (tickets between $500k up to $3M). I have worked in venture capital most of my career, having worked for a listed Venture Debt fund based out of Palo Alto, California and later on in a venture fund based in Madrid with a focus on Latam, Spain and India prior to joining InnoCells. I am a proud advisor, investor and Board Member in several Fintech startups.
Paula Blazquez Solano is among the investors who will be on stage sharing insights and investment trends in European FinTech at the 12th FinTech Forum, 19th Nov. 2020 in Frankfurt: https://ftf12.eventbrite.com
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-paula-blazquez-solano-of-innocells-banco-sabadell/
7 Questions with Bernadette Wijnings of Blanco Services
1. Please tell us a bit about yourself, both at work and leisure.
My name is Bernadette Wijnings and I am co-founder of Blanco Services. My background is in strategy consulting, but I’m an entrepreneur at heart, having started multiple companies. At Blanco I am responsible for finance & investors, HR & culture and strategic projects (read: everything that is either difficult or important and needs a deep dive). I’m super proud of the team that I built. In a bit less than 5 years, we have grown Blanco together to a company with over 125 clients in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. And it’s just the start :). I live in Amsterdam, am the proud mother of 5 kids, I love cooking, eating, good wines, magazines, books, art house movies, documentaries, yoga, walking, cities and beaches. And of course building companies.
http://www.fintechforum.de/7-questions-with-bernadette-wijnings-of-blanco-services/
Sherpany on a steep growth course
Sherpany, a Zurich based meeting management software company has raised growth capital from Cadence Growth Capital and existing investors. With a strong customer base comprised of over 350 customers including large and well-known companies, growing revenues and fresh capital, the company is ready for expansion across Europe.
Sherpany is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) business that provides senior executives and boards with a meeting room to organize, prepare, conduct and follow-up formal meetings in a more agile way increasing meeting productivity thanks to ita meeting framework Azend.
The company serves more than 350 enterprise customers including company’s like Arkema, Axpo, Borealis, Clariant, Firmenich, Hilti, ING, Röchling, RKW, Helvetia, SwissRe, Sberbank, Zurich Airport and Zurich Insurance Group.
https://www.startupticker.ch/en/news/july-2020/sherpany-on-a-steep-growth-course-and-fresh-capital
UK healthcare startup Lifted raises £1.6 million for tech-enabled home care that pays a living wage
Lifted, a London-based home healthcare startup, has raised £1.6 million in a seed round led by Fuel Ventures. Vitry Enfants and Marc Cohen of 1818 Venture Capital also participated. This investment brings the total raised to £3.1 million, since Lifted was first incubated by corporate venture builder Zero 1 back in 2018.
Co-founder Rachael Crook was 24 when her mother was diagnosed with dementia at 56, and she found navigating home care so “stressful and isolating” that she set out to create a better solution, with fellow co-founder Sam Cohen.
https://tech.eu/brief/lifted-seed-funding/
Radix DLT Raises $4.1m in Funding
Radix DLT, a London, UK-based decentralised finance protocol company, raised $4.1m in funding. Backers included LocalGlobe, and TransferWise’s Taavet Hinrikus.
The funds take the total raised by Radix to $10 million since 2013. The company intends to use the funds to bring its decentralised finance protocol to the public and grow the global team.Led by Piers Ridyard, CEO, Radix DLT is building a decentralised finance protocol that provides access, liquidity and programmability of any asset in the world.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/07/radix-dlt-raises-4-1m-in-funding.html
London’s PQShield raises £5.5 million seed to develop security solutions that match the power of quantum computing
PQShield, a London-based cybersecurity startup that specialises in post-quantum cryptography, has come out of stealth mode with a £5.5 million seed investment from Kindred Capital, Crane Venture Partners, Oxford Sciences Innovation and angel investors including Andre Crawford-Brunt, Deutsche Bank’s former global head of equities.
According to the startup, quantum computers “promise an unprecedented problem for security, since they will be able to smash through traditional public-key encryption and threaten the security of all sensitive information, past and present”. For that reason, the company is developing quantum-secure cryptography, advanced solutions for hardware, software and communications that resist quantum ‘threat’ yet still work with today’s technology.
“Whether cars, planes or other connected devices, many of the products designed and sold today are going to be used for decades. Their hardware may be built to last, but right now, their security certainly isn’t. Future-proofing is an imperative, just as it is for the banks and agencies that hold so much of our sensitive data,” explains founder and CEO Dr. El Kaafarani,
https://tech.eu/brief/pqshield-seed/
CyberSmart Raises £5.5M in Series A Funding
CyberSmart, a London, UK-based cybersecurity company, raised £5.5m in Series A funding. The round was led by IQ Capital. The company intends to use the funds to grow operations and its business reach.
Led by Jamie Akhtar, CEO, CyberSmart provides a cybersecurity platform that enables small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to combat the constant threat of cyber-attacks and increasing regulation in an ever-evolving technological landscape and increasingly connected digital operating space.
http://www.finsmes.com/2020/07/cybersmart-raises-5-5m-in-series-a-funding.html
Concirrus Raises $6M in Funding
Concirrus, a London, UK-based specialty analytics insurtech company, raised $6m in funding.
CommerzVentures made the investment, which followed a $20m Series B funding round led by AlbionVC, with participation from current investors IQ Capital, EOS Venture Partners and several angel investors announced in Feb 2020.
The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and its business reach.
Led by Andrew Yeoman, CEO, Concirrus uses latest advancements in AI and machine learning to develop a behavioural-based underwriting platform called Quest which delivers differentiated pricing, portfolio management and predictive analytics. It is used by insureds, insurers, reinsurers and brokers around the world.
concirrus-raises-6m-in-funding.html
Fintech startup Lanistar raises £15 million
Lanistar, a personal financial management startup founded in 2019, has raised £15 million to support its forthcoming commercial launch in Winter 2020.
The investment, from Milaya Capital, gives the VC a 10% stake in the company at a valuation of £150 million. Lanistar plans to use the fresh capital to grow its operational and customer support teams, and scale towards its product launch. The Hammersmith-based company employs 45 full time staff, and has plans to grow a 150-person support team in Greece. It has also recently announced partnerships with organisations such as Mastercard and Jumio.
https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/36197/fintech-startup-lanistar-raises-15-million
We are proud to partner with Money20/20 Europe, taking place on 22nd – 24th Sep. 2020 in Amsterdam.
Tell FOMO where to GO 👉 With over 2,500 of FinTech’s power players already attending #M2020EU, can you afford to not be one of them? Join us using discount code MP20FOR https://bit.ly/2Ag9QKv
- What’s new for #M2020EU you ask? Well, TWO – THIRDS of speakers are! Check ’em out now: https://bit.ly/38VYGas
Meet us at:
Swiss FinTech Fair, Zürich, 8 Sep. 2020 https://www.swissfintechfair.com
EY Startup Academy, Frankfurt, 15 Sep. 2020
https://start-up-initiative.ey.com/en/academy/program
Money2020 Europe, Amsterdam, 22-24 Sep. 2020 https://europe.money2020.com
South Summit, Madrid, 6-8 Oct. 2020
https://www.southsummit.co/en/home
FinTech Junction, Tel Aviv, 21-22 Oct. 2020
https://www.fintechjunction.com/annual/
Digital Insurance Agenda, Amsterdam, 28-29 Oct. 2020 https://next.digitalinsuranceagenda.com/dia-amsterdam-2020/want-to-attend/
MoneyConf / WebSummit, Lisbon, 2-5 Nov. 2020 https://websummit.com/moneyconf
12th FinTech Forum, Frankfurt, 19th Nov. 2020 http://www.fintechforum.de/events/
Meet Our Partners:
Heussen https://www.heussen-law.de | Money2020 Europe https://europe.money2020.com | InsurTech Insights https://insurtechinsights.com | Finovate Europe https://informaconnect.com/finovateeurope/ | FN FinTech 40 https://www.fnlondon.com