Budapest Letters #45
π€ Programming note: Budapest Letters will be out for 2 weeks. Back on 6 June.
ππ» Hi All! Great to have you back. This is Budapest Letters, my newsletter covering startup and small business stories from the CEE region, or interesting developments that might have something to do with this part of Europe. Hope you will enjoy it!
Before we jump into edition #45, big shout out to our new subscribers, good to have you here. And one more thing before we roll, if you like what you read, subscribe + share ππ»
Cheers, Aron
π’ TL;DR
Top stories this week: βπ» Apple launched its Tap to Pay mPOS solution for businesses and it looks pretty awesome βπ» LucidLink, Cyscale and Werk raised πΆ βπ» Romaniaβs Momsi aims to make motherhood less hard in CEE βπ» Craft Ventures argues that the current market downturn resembles the dot-com bust
π₯ Story of the Week
Apple's much talked about new Tap to Pay on iPhone feature has been spotted at the tech companies HQ in Cupertino, California. Apple confirmed the roll out of Tap to Pay last year that enables iPhone users to accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets via a simple tap to their phones.
Like thisβ¦
As you can see, unlike old school mPOS solutions, no additional hardware or payment terminal is needed for this new feature which is a huge plus.
It is said that Apple has been working on Tap to Pay since ca. 2020, when it acquired Mobeewave for $100M. So far it has been made available to businesses, only, through Shopify and Adyen point-of-sale commerce platforms. Cool stuff.
And why is this relevant for us in Europe, including CEE? Because, according to Graphic Research, the market size for mPOS terminals in Europe had hit $6B in 2020 and may register 17% (!) growth rate between 2021 to 2027.
Show Me Da πΆ
ππ» LucidLink, a cloud storage startup from πΊπΈ with strong π§π¬ roots (incl. one of its co-founders, George Dochev), received ca. β¬19M lead by Headline (πΊπΈ), with participation from existing investors BrightCap Ventures (π§π¬) and Baseline Ventures (πΊπΈ). The startup, that provides its business clients remote access to large files and datasets without the need to download and synchronize data, will use the fresh funding for expanding its team and its global outreach.
ππ» Cyscale, a cybersecurity startup from π·π΄, bagged β¬3M led by Notion Capital (π¬π§), with participation from both old and new investors, like Seedcamp (π¬π§) and local VC GapMinder. The company, that develops protection software for data stored in the cloud and offers contextual risk analysis, will use the newly raised sum to launch expand its team, fine-tune its tech and expand internationally.
ππ» Werk, a human resources startup from πͺπͺ, nabbed β¬1.2M led by local VC Change Ventures, with participation from Foundamental VC (π©πͺ) and various business angels. The startup, that offers a hiring and relocation platform for skilled migrant construction workers, will use the fresh raise to grow.
ππ» Additional investment news that you should know about:
Quantee, an insurtech startup from π΅π±, raised β¬650k led by Polish VC fund Nunatak Capital: more on this via Mamstartup
Apropo, a proposal automation startup from π΅π±, snatched β¬250k led by French VC fund LT Capital: more on this via Mamstartup
π₯ to all founders and teams on the fresh raises!
π¨ Startup Alert
This weekβs alert is on Momsi, a social app and marketplace from π·π΄, that on the surface offers a platform for mothers to meet-up and discuss the great and the not so great things (yep, can happen) about parenting, honestly, IRL or via the app.
But if one goes a notch deeper, the startup actually offers much more:
A safe space to talk openly or anonymously about sensitive topics;
Meet up with fellow moms close by for a play date or just a coffee;
Solve real-life emergencies;
Buy, sell, swap products.
Cool and much needed app that supports moms, who deserve all the help they can get. And Momsi might just be an app that delivers on its promise to make motherhood (at least a bit) easy, for now, in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine and Moldova. Hard to believe it? Check it: App Store / G Play
π§ Food
Last week I wrote about the grave market conditions for startups, big tech, investors and oh yeah, basically for everyone. Rising inflation, war in Eastern Europe, tanking stock and crypto markets and so on. Terrible stuff. But mostly because it is hard to tell what happens next and until when this π will last.
Having said that, David Sacks and Jeff Fluhr from Craft Ventures, a well know US venture capital firm, comes pretty close in explaining - using historical examples - on what is going on and what might happen. TL;DR this time seems to be similar to the dot-com bubble rather than the Great Recession or any other crash from the past, mostly because of the very strong involvement of tech companies in both periods. The dot-com bubble, as Sacks and Fluhr argues, was hyper focused on web page site visits, while the Post-Covid boom was hinged on revenue growth. Both are important to businesses, obviously, but cash is what matters in the end.
But this is just a brutal simplification of what is argued by David and Jeff so jump over to YT and listen to their whole session. You will not regret it. Here:
See you all on 13 June with edition #46, until then, stay safe and all best!