Insights
Every story from the Sesamers desk — funding rounds, data, interviews and opinion across European tech.
What VCs actually look for at seed
The fund maths behind every seed decision - why a reliable 3x gets rejected, what quality of demand really means, and the questions to ask investors back.
What percentage of startups fail? What the data actually says
The "90% of startups fail" figure is untraceable - here is what the BLS and Dealroom data actually show, and why high attrition is the venture model working as designed.
Startup grants in Europe: the non-dilutive funding guide
The EIC Accelerator, national agencies and the long tail of European grant money - how to interleave grants with a raise, and the hidden costs nobody announces.
The tradeshow booth playbook: exhibiting without burning the budget
When a booth is the right call, the 2.5x budget rule, design and staffing discipline, and why counting conversations instead of badge scans is the whole game.
Startup dilution explained: what three rounds really cost founders
A worked example of what pre-seed, seed and Series A really do to founder ownership - plus the three traps that make dilution cost more than the headline numbers suggest.
How to work Slush: the founder’s playbook
Slush rewards preparation more than any event in Europe - here is the eight-week timeline, the matchmaking tactics, the Helsinki specifics and the mistakes that waste a first-timer's badge.
SAFE vs convertible note vs BSA-AIR: startup instruments explained
How SAFEs, convertible notes and France's BSA-AIR actually work - caps and discounts with a worked example, the stacking trap, and the questions to ask before signing.
What is Series A funding? What it takes to raise one in Europe
Series A investors buy a demonstrated growth machine, not promise - here is what European A rounds look like, what diligence interrogates, and what the round costs founders.
Web Summit vs Slush: which is worth your badge?
Web Summit and Slush both land in November and could not be more different - we compare scale, investor density, cost and logistics on the published figures, then give a…
The best events for fundraising in Europe, ranked by investor density
We rank Europe's flagship startup events by investor density - computed from each event's own published figures - and explain why that number beats headline attendance for founders raising a…