Hey reader,

I’ve been in New York for the first time this past week and the feeling that “anything is possible” — especially when it comes to building a startup — definitely rings true. The tech community I’ve met — including Europeans building their startups here — seem much less risk-averse. There's a winner-takes-all mentality, people are building faster and thinking bigger.

So, what makes it so different to build a company in America? And what are the downsides? I get into that below.

Elsewhere... the countdown is on to apply for Sifted's Benelux Startup Leaderboard — a ranking of the region's fastest-growing startups by revenue growth. Founders, if you think your startup should be on there, you can apply here. But hurry, the deadline is this Friday!

— Anisah

/A message from our sponsor Northern Data Group

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3. DeepL founder on how to have an edge in AI.

Build in North America as a European founder

I first met Ivan Burazin earlier this year at Shift, a developer focused conference he founded in Croatia. He was attending as a speaker — after selling the event company to Croatian scaleup Infobip — and I saw him demoing his latest venture, Daytona, a platform that simplifies the setup and use of development environments. 

Daytona, unlike Shift, is an American company HQ’d in New York. Below Ivan shares his top tips on how to set up in the US as a European.

Understand why you're choosing the US. Will running a company in the US create less friction for your startup? How? Also, how will it remove obstacles to you scaling? Some of the reasons could be:

• Risk taking: The US’s culture of innovating, taking risks and iterating quickly means both investors and customers are more open to newer companies. For a company like Daytona, this means we can test in market and iterate quickly. 
• Capital: The US VC game is more developed and has more funding opportunities.
• Growth: A US presence can make it easier to expand globally.
• Credibility: US companies are still looked up to as leaders in the tech industry. 

Decide where you want to incorporate. Delaware is still considered the number one place to incorporate your startup due to its startup-friendly regulations, even with the conversations around the changes that might occur. We knew we needed to raise money and being a Delaware-incorporated company made it easier for US investors to put money in, accelerating our access to capital. We've just closed a $5m seed round, six months after we closed our pre-seed of $2m.

Also, not having to worry about navigating the complex legal and financial structures that vary when incorporating in multiple EU countries gives us more time to focus on building our product.

Get up to speed with US regulation. The US is significantly more litigious than most of Europe. You will need more comprehensive liability protection, contracts and reviewing of contracts. Get legal counsel before you even start.  

Budget for higher expenses. You will have more expensive operational costs in the US. This includes talent acquisition, healthcare and the legal services mentioned above. Ensure they're factored into your business plan and funding strategy.

Don't underestimate US competition. While Europeans maintain a steady pace, American rivals work fiercely and grow at an immense speed — they have a winner-takes-all mentality. Even big tech companies might suddenly enter your market. To compete, you have to adapt to their culture. Move faster, adapt quicker and consider raising more capital than initially planned.

Build a strong network. Everything works on who you know. It's crucial to build a strong network of local contacts — including legal and financial advisors. Embrace the US way of doing business when it comes to networking. Americans prioritise sourcing and connecting with people that can have an impact on their goals. This means networking might feel more transactional to you as people will politely move on from their chat with you if they don't find any synergies.

— Anisah

On the subject of... building in North America

1. The CEE American dream. CEE startups are more likely to move their headquarters to the US than their western European peers; 17% of CEE startups that have raised more than €1m in funding have moved abroad. Why?

2. Do you need a Delaware company to set up in the US? Probably.

3. Don’t fancy the US? Break into Canada instead. 

For more on expanding to the US, check out all of Sifted’s articles on the topic here.

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1KOMMA5° has a new managing director. Maximilian Haensel — former COO at battery specialist sonnen — has joined solar company 1KOMMA5° as its new managing director. 

Pento’s COO steps down. Sabrina Castiglione has stepped down from her role as chief operating officer of the automated payroll solution Pento, which exited to HR system HiBob in February 2024. She is taking up the role of chief financial and operating officer at Omnea, a platform automating the purchasing process. 

McMakler’s founder is stepping down. Felix Jahn, who has led the digital real estate agent for nine years, has resigned from office as CEO. On LinkedIn, he wrote about the various challenges McMakler has faced over the years and why it is now “the time for me to move ahead and give the company the freedom to enter the next phase.” Jahn will stay on as a board member and advisor to the leadership team.

Florence has a new CFO. The healthcare staffing platform has hired Karen Ko — former senior finance director at expense management platform Pleo — as its new chief financial officer.

Finboot has a new partnerships lead. The green supply chain management startup has hired Carlos García Velázquez — former performance lead for central Europe at Google  — as its new partnerships lead. He’ll be in charge of forging new partnerships and relationships to grow Finboot’s client base. 

TIER’s head of corporate communications steps down. After nearly three and a half years at the mobility startup — which merged with competitor Dott in January this year — Florian Anders is stepping down from his post. He’ll be joining Circus Group — which builds software that manages kitchen processes, inventory and order handover —as head of corporate communications. 

👨 Flexible working as a dad. “Women take years out to have babies and return to three or four day work weeks and job shares. It could be a lot more common (for dads) too,” says fractional COO Pete Finlay.

⏱️ If you want to be successful, reject routine. According to Andrew Chen, you can’t optimise the opportunities for 10x work — you need to embrace serendipity. 

📋 Quarterly product roadmap planning. This podcast episode looks at how to (try to) make the process less stressful for product managers.

Candidates are miffed at the hiring process

Job candidates aren’t having a great time of it at the moment. New research from HR platform HiBob of 2,000 professionals in the UK shows that 62% of candidates describe the hiring process as negative; almost a quarter find the process “stressful or soul-destroying”. So, what are employers doing wrong?

• 58% of UK professionals say they have been ghosted during the interview process; 39% say that’s happened more than once.
• 57% of candidates say a lack of communication gives them a negative impression of a potential employer.
• Additional problems include a disorganised interview process (56%), the job description being misaligned with the role (48%) and an excessive number (four or more rounds) of interviews (46%).

While companies are feeling the squeeze right now, it pays to invest in a solid recruitment process to help you prepare for the next time you need to hire (especially at scale). Having a shoddy hiring process can hurt your ability to attract much-needed talent — people talk, and it’s easy to get a bad reputation among candidates.

According to HiBob’s research, the following things are important to candidates: 

• Clear communication throughout the interview process 
• A prompt follow-up after the interview
• A clear overview of the role and development opportunities. 

Things that also sweeten the deal include being paid for attending an interview (maybe slightly pushing it?) and being provided with free transportation and accommodation for in-person interviews. 

Employers, take note!

— Miriam