EU-Startups | Limelight on EU-startups

Polish startup UsabilityTools secures funding

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

UsabilityTools, a conversion testing and usability optimization platform operating in the SaaS model, has just secured fresh capital from SpeedUp Innovation and Xevin Investments. SpeedUp Innovation has acquired 16% of the shares and another 16% has been acquired by Xevin Investments (for an undisclosed sum). Additional 8% went to Cube Group – a subsidiary of Xevin Investment. UsabilityTools, which is based in Poznań (Poland), now intends to address international markets and Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Poland-Startups | Tagged Poznań, SpeedUp, usability testing, UsabilityTools, Xevin | Leave a comment

Game monetisation: Stryking closes 1st external funding round

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

The Berlin-based startup Stryking Entertainment, which focuses on innovative marketing and monetization tools for free-to-play games, has recently gained the Angel VC Fund True Global Ventures as an investor. With the newly raised capital (a six-digit sum), Stryking, which was founded in 2012, will speed up the development and market launch of its own technical framework. This will provide developers and publishers of free-to-play games with completely new e-commerce functionalities and opportunities to integrate brand partners directly into the game. Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Germany-Startups | Tagged Berlin, game monetisation, Stryking, True Global Ventures | Leave a comment

Investing in Spanish entrepreneurs (video)

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

IBL Studios, a New York based communications agency, has just released a promotional video to support Spanish entrepreneurs. Although the music is a little bit too dramatic, I really like the message of the video. I wish there was a similar one for Europe as a whole…

Posted in Spain-Startups | Tagged IBL Studios, Spanish entrepreneurs, video | Leave a comment

The favorite books of Evan Williams and Lars Hinrichs

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

Books have the power to transform lives and businesses. With our section “The favorite books of…” we inform you once in a while about the favorite books of some of the most successful Internet entrepreneurs. Today we’re looking at the bookshelf of Evan Williams and Lars Hinrichs:

Evan Williams (Co-Founder of Twitter / Blogger): He gave “The Power of One” by Bryce Courtenay a 5 star rating on goodreads and stated: “I read this book when I was young, hungry, and impressionable. I found it quite inspiring. Not sure how it would strike me today, but giving it five stars, based on the impact it had on me at the time.” Another book he gave 5 stars is The Halo Effect. Williams said “If you read business books, you should read this business book. You’ll read all others with a Continue reading →

Posted in Know-How, Other Stuff | Tagged Evan Williams, favorite books, Lars Hinrichs, the Tipping point | Leave a comment

Dutch startup SEOshop secures $1.5 million

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

A €1,1 million series A funding by HENQ allows Dutch online store company SEOshop, one of the fastest expanding E-commerce platforms in the Netherlands, to conquer the European market. SEOshop offers clients ready- and custom-made online stores at low costs, making it market leader in the Benelux in just a few years time.

Ruud Stelder (CEO) and Dennis Cuijpers (CTO) founded the company in 2008 which nowadays employs 37 young professionals. By now SEOshop serves Continue reading →

Posted in Funding, Netherland-Startups | Tagged Amsterdam, HENQ, online shopping, SEO, SEOshop, Series A | Leave a comment

Milestone: Babbel apps crack the 10 million downloads mark

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

The language learning startup Babbel today announced it has achieved a record of 10 million downloads of its mobile applications. The apps of the Berlin-based company are available in over 190 countries. English is the most popular language learned with the Babbel app, followed by Spanish and French. Babbel users have the option to learn languages flexibly and Continue reading →

Posted in Germany-Startups | Tagged apps, Babbel, Berlin, downloads, language learning, milestone | Leave a comment

Worth reading: iZettle, Excalibur, Lamoda, Qwaya, Leetchi

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

There are so many interesting stories out there and unfortunately we don’t have the time to cover all of them. With our section “Worth reading” we provide you (once in a while) with some links to interesting articles of other publications:

Sweden’s iZettle, a square clone and one of the more successful European payments startups so far, just landed a €5 million investment from Europe’s largest bank Banco Santander as well as a deal to sell iZettle’s service and smartphone card reader to the bank’s U.K. customers. Continue reading →

Posted in France-Startups, Germany-Startups, Slovakia-Startups, Sweden Startups | Tagged Excalibur, iZettle, Lamoda, Leetchi, Qwaya | Leave a comment

The 3 most controversial founders out of Germany

Posted on June 10, 2013 by admin

Let me introduce you to the three most controversial Internet founders out of Germany. Probably you’ve already heard of one or all three of them, but I thought it might be entertaining to provide you with a short list and intro. The interesting thing is, that the following three German entrepreneurs are not only some of the most controversial, but also some of the most successful founders on a global scale. And here they are:

1.Fabian Thylmann is the owner of some of the world’s most heavily used porn websites (YouPorn, PornHub, MyDirtyHobby, Brazzers, Tranny Surprise, etc.). Combined, his sites generate over 16 billion hits per month and are among the most popular websites on the planet. Fabian Thylmann’s company Manwin has its headquarters in Luxembourg and offices in Dublin, Hamburg, London, Los Angeles, Nicosia and Montreal.

Born and raised in German, Thylmann today lives in Belgium. In December 2012, he Continue reading →

Posted in Germany-Startups, Other Stuff | Tagged controversial founders, Fabian Thylmann, Kim Dotcom, Manwin, Mega, Oliver Samwer, Rocket internet | 1 Comment

Mobile touchless technology: Crunchfish raises 2.3 million

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Thomas Ohr

The Malmö-based startup Crunchfish raises additional €2.3 million in funding to accelerate the roll-out of its mobile touchless technology. The majority of the funding comes from Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi, Crunchfish Chairman Joachim Samuelsson and Intesa AB. New investors are Stephan Carlquist and Anders Williamsson.

Crunchfish aims to take the user experience with apps and mobile devices to the next level by making the touchless interface available everywhere. Continue reading →