Oranmore is just like any other sleepy Irish town — except for the fact that everything is delivered by futuristic drones. During lockdown, Oranmore became the testing bed for Manna Aero, a drone delivery startup that promises candy, curry and hot coffee to your door in a matter of minutes. In this first episode, we’ll hear from Sifted innovation editor Maija Palmer, Manna Aero founder Bobby Healy and the Oranmore locals who are the guinea pigs for this frontier technology. You’ll also hear from 5-year-old Eliza, who will grill Healy on his business model in our first episode of Baby Shark Tank.

Welcome to The Sifted Podcast, the first-ever podcast by the FT-backed publication ​on European startups. Hosted by Sifted’s editor, Michael Stothard, this podcast will introduce you to Europe’s most exciting tech sectors — from psychedelic therapy to audio erotica — and the founders driving them into the future. 

 In each episode, we’ll give you need-to-know sector info to put these conversations into a wider context. We’ll also be putting these startups to the test in Baby Shark Tank, where Michael’s 5-year-old daughter, Eliza, will grill founders on their ideas and decide whether or not to hand over marshmallows as investment.

 Subscribe now, and make sure you don’t miss our four-episode pilot, sponsored by Zendesk for Startups, which will be out starting mid-November.