Europe's Rising 100 Pitch Deck Teardown: A Data-Driven Map

Introduction: Mapping the Future of European B2B

The Europe's Rising 100 report is a collaborative effort between Sifted and Sapphire Ventures. It functions as a comprehensive market map rather than a singular company pitch. The goal is to identify the next generation of unicorns—referred to here as 'soonicorns'—within the European B2B ecosystem. The deck is structured to provide both a macro view of market forces and micro-level data on 100 specific companies. By analyzing valuations, funding rounds, and geographic trends, the report offers a snapshot of where the most significant value is being created in European tech as of 2022.

Slide 1: Title and Sponsorship

The cover slide establishes the report's authority, featuring the Sifted brand (backed by the Financial Times) and sponsorship by Sapphire Ventures. The subtitle, "Uncovering future unicorns: The ultimate B2B list," clearly defines the scope. The illustration of various 'unicorn' characters suggests a diverse range of companies and founders within the cohort.

Slide 2: Contents

The table of contents outlines a four-chapter structure: Market forces, geographic origins, female founders, and case studies of specific 'soonicorns' like Otrium, Pitch, and Billie. This indicates the report will balance data-heavy rankings with qualitative editorial analysis.

Slide 4: Introduction to the Ranking

This slide explains the 'why' behind the list. It states that the majority of the 100 companies are currently valued at over $100m . The text acknowledges the 'red-hot financing landscape' of previous years giving way to 'new uncertainty' in 2022, characterized by layoffs and VCs urging founders to reserve cash. This sets a realistic tone for the valuations that follow.

Slide 6: Meet Europe's Rising 100

The cohort spans 13 sectors , including SaaS, fintech, healthcare, security, and marketing. The slide notes that companies marked with an asterisk () are Sapphire portfolio companies, ensuring transparency regarding potential bias in the selection process.

Slides 8-20: The Ranking Profiles

These slides form the core of the report, listing companies in ranked order with key metadata. Each profile includes the company name, a brief description, location, founding year, employee count, total funding, and valuation. Highlights include:

Factorial (#6): HR software from Spain, valued at $482M with $99M in funding (Slide 8). · Codat (#10): UK fintech valued at $825M (Slide 8). · GitGuardian (#20): Security software from France with a Confidential valuation (Slide 10). · Tide (#25): UK SME banking valued at $650M (Slide 10). · Gtmhub (#38): Bulgarian enterprise software valued at $600M (Slide 12). · Immersive Labs (#49): UK cyber skills platform valued at $375M (estimate) (Slide 14). · Quantexa (#68): UK AI-based fintech valued at $850M (estimate) (Slide 16). · Terra Quantum (#81): Swiss security firm valued at $50M despite $86M in funding, indicating a potential downround or specific valuation context (Slide 18). · Paysend (#96): UK money transfer service valued at $720M (estimate) (Slide 20).

Slide 22: Selecting 100 Companies on the Rise (Methodology)

This is a critical slide for understanding the report's validity. The selection process involved a 'long list' of 483 companies narrowed down through a multi-stage procedure. Criteria included:

Launched in 2015 or later. · Estimated valuation between $100m and $999m . · Fundraised in or after 2016. · Independent, B2B-focused, and based in one of 32 eligible European countries.

The report explicitly mentions prioritizing 'investor pedigree,' using Dealroom's 2022 EMEA Investors ranking to weight the strength of a company's cap table.

Slide 24: Chapter I - Market Forces

This section transitions from the list to analysis. It promises to look at 'key trends emerging from the ranking,' likely focusing on how macro-economic shifts are affecting B2B growth.

Slide 26: Random Facts and The Covid Effect

This slide provides qualitative 'color' to the data. It notes that crypto companies like Tenderly (#33) and Tesseract (#92) made the list despite the 'crypto winter.' It also highlights the 'Covid Effect,' where the pandemic accelerated valuations for online security and remote work tools. A notable fact: Veed.io (#31) was rejected by Y Combinator in 2019 but still made the top 100 list.

Slide 28: Average Cheque Size and The Bust of 2022

This slide contains vital unit economics for the region. It shows average round sizes: $37M for Series A, $68M for Series B, $104M for Series C, and $132M for Series D+ . It also includes a survey result showing that 56% of the soonicorn stable believes the market downturn will have 'not much impact' on their growth in the next 2-3 years. It also highlights growth in smaller sectors like Space (Kineis) and Art Shipping (Convelio).

Slide 30: Chapter II - Where do the disruptors come from?

Geography is the focus here. The report finds that 69 of the 100 companies are headquartered in the UK (34), Germany (18), and France (17). London (29), Paris (15), and Berlin (10) are the top cities. However, the report notes that 42% of founders feel location has 'not much impact' on future success, reflecting a post-pandemic shift toward remote-first operations.

Slide 32: The Joy of Small Places

This slide explores emerging hubs. It features kevin. (#18) from Lithuania and tinybird (#28) from Spain. Founders from these regions cite lower costs of living and a 'scrappy nature' as advantages. Jorge Gomez Sancha of tinybird notes that while Spain's tech scene is growing, they are taking the threat of falling budgets 'super seriously.'

Slide 34: Chapter III - Meet the Female Founders

The report addresses the gender gap in European tech. It acknowledges the 'striking underrepresentation of women' in the ranking, setting the stage for profiles of successful female leaders in the following slides.

Slide 36: Profiles in Leadership

This slide features Rachel Delacour (Sweep, #42) and Aiga Senftleben (Billie, #12) . It highlights specific achievements, such as Billie closing its gender pay gap to 0%. It also mentions Christine de Wendel (Sunday, #17) , who raised $100m just months after founding her company.

Slide 38: Case Study - Pitch

A deep dive into Pitch (#1) , the presentation software startup. It details the founders' history with Wunderlist (sold to Microsoft) and their desire to build an independent, profitable business. The slide emphasizes the importance of a large, experienced founding team (eight co-founders) and a culture of 'trust and authenticity.'

Slide 40: Case Study - Billie

This slide focuses on the B2B Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model. Billie (#12) raised $100m in 2021, reaching a $640m valuation. Managing director Christian Grobe discusses the 'ultra-long' sales cycles of B2B (6 to 16 months) and the relative safety of B2B BNPL compared to the B2C market, which is currently facing higher regulatory and economic pressure.

Slide 42: Acknowledgements

The final content slide lists the contributors, including founders from Tenderly, Leapwork, Otrium, Seon, Billie, Proximie, Pitch, tinybird, and kevin. It credits the data analysis to Federico Scolari and the methodology to Chris Sisserian.

What Works in This Deck

1. Data Transparency: The inclusion of a detailed methodology slide (Slide 22) is excellent. By defining exactly what a 'soonicorn' is and how they were selected, the report gains immediate credibility. The use of third-party data from Dealroom and Pitchbook adds an objective layer to the analysis.

2. Granular Company Data: The profile slides (8-20) are highly effective. Providing the founding year, headcount, total funding, and valuation for every company allows for quick comparison and benchmarking. The distinction between 'estimate' and 'verified' valuations (or 'confidential' tags) shows a commitment to accuracy over hype.

3. Geographic and Sector Analysis: The report does a great job of breaking down the 'where' and the 'what.' By identifying that 69% of the list comes from just three countries, it highlights the continued dominance of established hubs while still giving space to emerging markets like Lithuania and Bulgaria.

4. Founder Perspectives: The inclusion of direct quotes and case studies (Slides 38, 40) humanizes the data. Hearing from founders about sales cycles, hiring in small towns, and the impact of the 2022 downturn provides context that raw numbers cannot.

What is Missing

1. Revenue Metrics: While funding and valuations are covered extensively, there is almost no mention of revenue or ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) for the ranked companies. For a B2B-focused list, revenue growth is often a more significant indicator of 'unicorn' potential than funding totals.

2. Burn Rates and Runway: The report mentions that VCs are urging founders to 'reserve cash' (Slide 4), but it doesn't provide data on the average runway or burn rates of the cohort. Given the 'Bust of 2022' context, this information would have been highly valuable for assessing which companies are truly 'rising' versus those just sitting on large, older rounds.

3. Exit Data: The report focuses on the 'path to unicorn status' but doesn't analyze recent exits in the B2B space to show what the ultimate outcome for these companies might look like. Including a few 'graduates' from previous years who successfully IPO'd or were acquired would have strengthened the narrative.

What a Founder Should Copy

1. The 'Investor Pedigree' Focus: Founders should take note of Slide 22. The fact that this report weights companies based on the strength of their investors (using Dealroom rankings) proves that who is on your cap table matters as much as how much they invested. Founders should aim for 'strong' investors to increase their visibility in these types of market maps.

2. Clear Value Propositions: The profile slides use one-sentence descriptions for each company (e.g., "All-in-one software for HR managers" for Factorial). Founders should ensure their own 'elevator pitch' is this concise and easily understood by analysts and investors.

3. Benchmarking Against Peers: Founders can use the data on Slide 28 (Average cheque size per round) to see if their own fundraising targets are in line with the European average. If you are raising a Series A, knowing the average is $37M provides a useful data point for negotiations.

4. Highlighting Niche Dominance: The report highlights companies in 'smaller sectors' like Space and Art Shipping. Founders in non-obvious categories should copy this approach by emphasizing their momentum relative to their specific sector, rather than just comparing themselves to generic SaaS giants.