Scaling Europe

Revolut built its own performance framework when an Excel sheet stopped scaling and culture began shifting at just over 100 employees.

At Slush in Helsinki, I spoke with Georgian Andrei, GM of Revolut People, about how that internal system ties every employee to measurable KPIs that update in real time and how it has now become a standalone product aimed at helping other European companies scale with the same performance discipline that powered Revolut’s growth.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

0:30 - Georgian discusses his role at Revolut

2:01 - Building a performance management framework

5:06 - Three pillars of performance management

7:50 - Reasons for Europe's underestimated potential

9:11 - Creating a unique company culture

10:30 - Vision for a comprehensive business suite

14:09 - Importance of talent management in Europe

Intercom’s AI customer service agent FIN is already resolving more than 1 million conversations every week and is on track to hit $100m in revenue. When I spoke with Des Traynor, Co-founder of Intercom, he described what it really takes to pivot a 15-year-old SaaS company into an AI-first business while the market is still figuring out what AI actually means. FIN is no longer just a feature inside Intercom, it is becoming the product.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here: https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

0:30 - Des Traynor discusses Intercom's focus

1:08 - Launch success of AI agent Finn

2:07 - Transition from add-on to essential tool

5:49 - Expanding market with AI features

7:12 - Fin's potential to surpass Intercom

9:11 - Embracing the innovator's dilemma

10:34 - Balancing customer feedback and innovation

11:51 - Understanding customer requirements for design

12:50 - Importance of AI in customer service solutions

15:01 - Building a network through startup interactions

17:34 - Changes in coding agent leadership

18:20 - Experimental phase of AI tools

19:01 - European tech's current state

22:24 - EU regulations hindering growth

Gilion is building infrastructure that connects startup performance directly to capital. At Slush in Helsinki, I spoke with Henrik Landgren, Co-founder and CPTO at Gilion, about how granular company data and AI-driven analysis are used to structure funding decisions, including non-dilutive growth financing of up to €5–10m for companies with strong underlying metrics.

After working with large-scale data at Spotify and later as a VC, he is now focused on turning detailed retention, cash flow and unit economics data into financial products that give founders more flexibility alongside traditional equity.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:25 - Introduction to Gilion and Henrik

2:06 - Using data to empower entrepreneurs

3:57 - Non-dilutive growth financing explained

4:52 - Key metrics for funding decisions

6:01 - Balancing data and relationship in VC

7:20 - Detailed analysis improves founder discussions

8:55 - Exploring non-dilutive funding options

10:31 - Changes in equity market requirements

11:19 - Blurring lines in funding options

12:55 - Building a startup ecosystem in Stockholm

14:00 - Benefits of a tight-knit startup community

15:40 - Importance of being a generalist

16:30 - Transition from consulting to tech

17:38 - Learning from consulting experiences

20:11 - Building a data analytics platform

ivee has announced the first close of its seed round, raising $1m and going for more.

The company started as a recruitment platform helping people back into work. After Dragon’s Den and a sharp shift in the market, it expanded into AI upskilling as companies began racing to retrain their workforce. Amelia Miller argues the next divide in the labour market will be AI-fluent vs non-AI-fluent, and that learning to use these tools properly is quickly becoming career leverage.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:10 - Announcement of seed round close

1:59 - Expansion into AI upskilling

4:57 - Key skills for AI proficiency

5:48 - Workflow automation and AI agents

6:59 - Upskilling on AI for career growth

7:33 - AI fluency wage premium statistics

8:19 - Importance of AI in non-technical jobs

11:56 - Best tools for AI usage

12:44 - Importance of micro upskilling

14:01 - Normalizing business pivots

16:34 - Shift towards AI fluency

17:21 - Iterating product before release

19:00 - Importance of public messaging

21:00 - Mission-driven organization focus

22:30 - Exciting new partnerships and funding

Bloom & Wild grew to £50m in its first seven years, raised over £100m from General Catalyst and Index, then had to pivot hard when the market shifted.

Aron Gelbard, Co-Founder and CEO, talks about moving from growth to profitability, rebuilding momentum, and returning to 20% year-on-year growth while staying profitable.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction to Scaling Europe show

0:40 - Journey of Bloom & Wild's growth

2:17 - Impact of COVID on business

3:43 - Balancing consumer focus and supply chain

6:08 - Acquisitions entering new markets

7:40 - Transitioning to profitability as a CEO

9:20 - Learning resilience through challenging times

11:49 - Business growth and profitability today

13:14 - Expansion into eight international markets

14:10 - Diversifying into other gifting categories

15:51 - Future plans for growth and profitability

18:14 - Emphasizing efficiency through AI tools

19:30 - Importance of tracking AI results

21:10 - Empowering internal AI evangelists

22:20 - Lessons learned from building Bloom & Wild

A former black hole physicist now building one of the most practical bets in AI. Sasha Haco, Co-Founder and CEO of Unitary, explains why most AI agents still don’t show real impact, and why the real opportunity lies in replacing the repetitive admin work buried inside legacy systems across entire industries.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

George Davis, CEO at Lorum, is building the clearing bank behind fintech.

After TrueLayer and BVNK, he left to fix dollar clearing for financial institutions. Lorum now claims 80% month-to-month growth for six months, with USD clearing growing even faster, as it positions itself as core infrastructure in global payments.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Encord has raised a $60m Series C, taking total funding to $110m, as physical AI starts to move into the real world.

Eric Landau, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Encord, shares why robotics and autonomous systems are now training on data volumes far beyond what powered early AI models, and how that shift is reshaping where real value in AI is being built.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Italian Tech Week is now Wave.

Diyala D’Aveni, CEO at Vento, explains why keeping “Italy” in the name started to feel limiting as founders and investors began coming from across Europe and beyond.

From starting with 100 people in 2018 to backing 160 Italian founders worldwide, she reflects on how Italy’s tech scene has evolved and what it will take for founders to believe they can build global companies.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:

https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

AI hardware is entering a new phase as billions flow into chips and frontier labs across Europe.

Danyal Akarca, Co-founder at Callosum, and Suraj Bramhavar, Programme Director at ARIA, are working on what comes next: a £50m Scaling Inference Lab and a system layer designed to connect different models to different chips, pushing AI beyond homogenous scale and towards a more heterogeneous future.

The Scaling Europe show is presented by Deel - check them out here:https://get.deel.com/ruynb7o4lfjk

Sponsors:

SurrealDB: The multi-model database for AI agents. Check them out here: https://surrealdb.com/

Omni: The AI analytics platform trusted by fast-growing companies like Perplexity, Synthesia, and dbt Labs. Check them out here: https://omni.co/

Venture Comet: The platform that gives startups and scale-ups real-time equity tracking, daily business insights and automated management information. Check them out here: https://venturecomet.com/

Timestamps:

0:11 - Background on Arya and scaling compute program

2:10 - Rise of private capital in AI hardware

5:10 - Testing new hardware and software combinations

7:13 - Transitioning to heterogeneous computing systems

9:44 - Importance of multi-agent intelligence paradigm

11:39 - Achieving performance gains with diverse hardware

14:01 - Economic viability of specialized models

17:30 - Excitement about upcoming releases

20:26 - Building AI systems every six months

22:00 - Evaluating cost reduction in AI systems

24:19 - Nvidia's future in AI hardware

27:03 - Market diversification in chip industry

29:11 - Importance of connective tissue in AI

31:01 - Breaking the hardware lottery concept

32:54 - Exciting developments in photonic networking