Lovable offers $80m cash-out bonanza
by Martin Coulter
Good morning John,
Are VCs more trouble than they’re worth?
That’s the question raised by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, who revealed this week that he’d gradually booted VCs off the fintech giant’s board, warning that investors who lack operational experience can be “dangerous” to startups’ growth.
Storonsky recalled one particularly egregious example: an investor who tried to convince him to fire one of his best employees for being “too hardcore”. That employee turned out to be Alan Chang, who went on to found Fuse Energy.
His advice to founders? Keep VCs out of the boardroom altogether. But that’s perhaps easier said than done when you’re running one of Europe’s most valuable scaleups.
My colleague Anne Sraders and I asked founders and investors for their take on whether VCs can do more harm than good — and if keeping them at arm’s length is a luxury most founders simply can’t afford.
But does Storonsky have a point? As always, I'm keen to hear your thoughts.
Elsewhere today:
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💰 Exclusive: Swedish vibe coding startup Lovable is offering employees a $80m cash-out bonanza at an $13.3bn valuation.
👀 The Bank of England ordered a review of Revolut’s internal controls over new product launches, months after Europe's biggest fintech secured its long-awaited UK banking licence.
👮♂️ A London-based AI startup founded by a former senior police officer has reportedly reached a valuation of around $400m, attracting backing from Sequoia and General Catalyst.
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Birmingham-based Lovey, which provides flexible payment solutions and financing options for consumers and businesses in the UK, raised £250m in debt funding from Pollen Street Capital.
London-based Machenta, which develops advanced robotics solutions to automate industrial processes, raised $40m in seed funding led by Creandum and Union Square Ventures.
London-based Overwatch Data, which provides AI-driven data analytics solutions to help organisations manage, analyse, and secure their data assets, raised $15m in Series A funding. Mouro Capital led the round and was joined by investors including Visa Ventures, Capital One Ventures, PruVen Capital and New Era Capital Partners.
Bratislava-based Boataround, which offers an online platform to search, compare and book boat rentals globally, raised €7m in funding led by Reflex Capital.
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