#3
ππ» Hi All! Great to have you back. This is visegrad.now, my newsletter covering startup and small business stories from the Visegrad countries (π΅π±, π¨πΏ, πΈπ°, ππΊ). If you like what you read, do not forget to subscribe, share and recommend us to friends π Cheers!
PS: I am always open to new ideas and suggestions that could make this newsletter better, so DM me at hello.visegradnow@gmail.com, anytime.
π’ TL;DR
Top stories this week: βπ» ElevenLabs, a UK-based voice AI startup with Polish founders, reached π¦ status after raising ca. β¬73.9M from mostly πΊπΈ VCs βπ» Daytrip (π¨πΏ), edrone (π΅π±), Hedepy (π¨πΏ) and CloseRocket (πΈπ°) have all received πΆ βπ» Czechiaβs Mamio aims to connect local mothers to share experiences βπ» Open roles at startups in this edition, and some Visegrad relevant good reads
π¨ Intro
After raising ca. β¬73.9M (Series B) from mostly A-list US venture cap firms (Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital), it is said that London-based voice AI startup ElevenLabs, founded 2 years ago, has officially gained π¦ status.
But why should it matter around here that a UK startupβs value soared? Because ElevanLabs was founded by two Poles, Mati Staniszewski and Piotr Dabkowski. On the one hand, this should be a loud and proud Visegrad moment for all of us. The tech that this team is building is truly cutting-edge. I mean come on, they are competing with AI big wigs like like OpenAI and DeepL; whom, by the way, both have π΅π± connections. And the pace with which they are doing it, also amazing.
On the other hand though, it is a bit bittersweat. Firstly, because they are building the company out of London, and not Warsaw or WrocΕaw. Secondly, ElevanLabs made it until now thanks to - mostly - US venture funding, and not Polish; although big shout out to Czechiaβs Credo Ventures who participated.
This feeling is also reflected by a post from Andreas Treichl, Chairman of Erste Foundation and ex-CEO of Erste Group Bank AG (Disclaimer: I worked for Erste Group in the past), who is very active when it comes to CEE current affairs.
But do not get me wrong, this is still great news. We should clearly look at the ElevanLabs team and its founders as examples. Like we do with all similar startups that, while having roots here in Visegrad, make it big outside of our region. Nonetheless, we should take this opportunity, learn from it, understand the reasons (business and personal, alike) behind the move, and try to tackle it. So that in a couple of years the next ElevanLabs will be based in Warsaw or WrocΕaw.
πΆ Funding corner
ππ» Daytrip, a digital travel platform startup from π¨πΏ, snatched ca. β¬9.2M (Series B) led by Taiwana Capital with participation from Euroventures (ππΊ), J&T Ventures and N1 (both from π¨πΏ), all existing investors. The fresh financing will aim at boosting expansion (USA, chiefly) and further development of its product.
Founded: 2015; HQ: Prague; Founder(s): Valeriia Pshenychna, MarkΓ©ta BlΓ‘hovΓ‘, TomΓ‘Ε‘ Turek, JiΕΓ SvΓ‘Δek and Jan Proko; Total funding (until now): ca. β¬16M
ππ» edrone, a marketing tech startup from π΅π±, bagged ca. β¬4.6M led by INventures with participation from PortfoLion (ππΊ), Mueller Medien and Atmos. The fresh financing will aim at product development and accelerated growth.
Founded: 2016; HQ: Krakow; Founder(s): Blak brothers (Michal and Rahim); Funding: ca. β¬8-10M range
ππ» Hedepy, a healthtech startup from π¨πΏ, nabbed β¬3.8M from Impact Ventures (ππΊ) and local funds N1, Purple Ventures, RSJ and angel investors. The investment will fuel its growth among Corporate clients and fine-tune its mental health platform.
Founded: 2020; HQ: Prague; Founder(s): Lukas Krcil, Martin ZdraΕΎil and Roman ZΓ‘meΔnΓk; Funding: β¬3.8M
ππ» CloseRocket, B2B sales platform startup from πΈπ°, landed β¬1M from Vision Ventures (πΈπ°), Jinej Fond (π¨πΏ) and various local angels. The financing will aim at scaling the business further with special emphasis on expansion (US market).
Founded: 2023; HQ: Bratislava; Founder(s): Katarina Ε imkovΓ‘; Funding: β¬1M
π₯ to all founders and teams on the fresh raises!
π In focus
This weekβs profile is on Mamio, a social startup from π¨πΏ, that was founded in 2022 byΒ Laureen HΓΆllge, Johana Ε perlovΓ‘ andΒ Karel Hrdina. The company created an app that helps Czech mothers connect with each other by child age and location and exchange experiences. In addition, Mamio prepares to create a parenting guide and a recommendation system for beneficial solutions (products, services).
Currently, the app is free for its users (social aspect), but it will take a cut from businesses whose solutions it will offer via recommendations. Mamio has ca. 15,000 users in Czechia which it intends to boost thanks to a fresh investment (pre-seed round) from Czech Founders and PurposeTech, both local investors.
π§ Personal take: I like nich digital apps, especially the ones with a social purpose, let it be Believer for faith-based communities or Nekrachni for financial education of kids, to stay with Czechia. But what most miss, and thus will not make it big in their reach and/or financially, is how to remain relevant for users. And here, I am not only referring to staying relevant in the noise (everyday there is a new app for something) or making money (most people, as they already pay a lot for stuff, are not willing to pay additional π°). I am referring to the hard job of making sure that your solution is not replicable by a more established tech player. On this end, while I easily see a Mamio-like feature from Facebook or an established e-com player, they might pull it off if they build traction quickly π€π»
π Role play
Daytrip has 6 open positions, e.g. B2B Strategy Manager
edrone has 11 open positions, e.g. E-mail Delivery Specialist
π Outro
And before we bid farewell, some interesting reads and things to check:
Emerging Europe, a UK management advisory and market intelligence firm that also publishes an online magazine focused on the CEE region, came out with a report called βThe Future of Emerging Europe 2024: Grasping the Chance to Leadβ. Lot of gems inside, incl. the first sustainability index for the region, 28 country profiles and suggestions how the region could elevate itself futher.
White Unicorn Incubator (ππΊ) has been launched for aspiring medtech startup founders and teams to establish new businesses in the space.
SeedBlink (π·π΄), CEEβs first crowd-funding platform, published an overview on the investor profiles active on the site - bunch of relevant and cool intel there.
Thatβs it. See you all in 2 weeks.