EU-Startups Podcast

For today’s podcast, produced in association with the Women TechEU scheme, we sit down with Jekaterina Romanova, CEO and co-founder of Latvian biotech startup PrintyMed, to discuss biomimetic spider silk, its medical potential, and the challenges of scaling deep-tech innovation in Europe.

The Women TechEU scheme is an EU-funded project supporting women leading deep tech startup companies from Europe. As part of the consortium team implementing the programme, our mission is to foster inclusive innovation by supporting women-led startups, including under-represented deep tech sectors and European regions. 

We believe that diversity drives innovation, and we are here to provide women in deep tech with more opportunities, resources, and support in order to build market-shaping companies at global level.

Between 2026-2028, the current project consortium will run a continuous open call with 4 cut-off dates. Following a rigorous evaluation process, 160 total beneficiaries will be selected. Each beneficiary will receive €75k grants (non-dilutive finance), as well as a tailored package of mentorship, training, expert guidance, matchmaking and networking opportunities, and support in bridging the gap to other EIC funding and support schemes.

EU-Startups is a proud member of the consortium implementing the Women TechEU Programme from 2026 to 2028.

In this podcast, Jekaterina reflects on her unconventional path into biotechnology. After studying economics and working in banking, she entered entrepreneurship at 18 through a posture-correction clothing startup. She later founded a company developing 3D-printed bone grafts, gaining experience in medical regulation, funding, and commercialisation.

At PrintyMed, Jekaterina leads grants, investment, partnerships, and strategy, while scientists and doctors oversee laboratory research. The company’s biomimetic spider silk technology originated at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and replicates aspects of how spiders naturally produce silk.

PrintyMed’s long-term ambition is to support artificial organs and biological scaffolds. It has developed an artificial heart-valve prototype and is exploring artificial nerves, wound dressings, and regenerative medicine.

Its first commercial focus is membranes for organ-on-a-chip systems, which help pharmaceutical companies and researchers test drugs while reducing animal testing. PrintyMed is already running pilot projects, although products intended for patients will require several more years of certification.

Jekaterina also discusses the importance of European funding. PrintyMed has secured about €2 million in grants, including €75,000 from Women TechEU and roughly €700,000 through a European Innovation Council programme. This support strengthened the company’s expertise in regulation, intellectual property, scaling, and fundraising.

The conversation also covers expansion beyond Europe. PrintyMed is building relationships in Saudi Arabia, where government-backed biotechnology initiatives, research partnerships, and certification opportunities could support international growth.

Jekaterina argues that Europe’s medical-device regulations can slow innovation and calls for controlled fast-track testing environments. She also highlights spider silk’s potential in cosmetics and skincare, following discussions with Chanel about a regenerative cosmetic glove.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

For today's podcast we sit down with Tom Wehmeier, Partner and Head of Intelligence at Atomico, to discuss European technology, the firm’s investment philosophy, and the influential State of European Tech report.

Tom reflects on his unconventional route into venture capital. Before joining Atomico, he worked in telecommunications, witnessing shifts such as the emergence of 3G and internet-based calling. This taught him to recognise hype cycles, adopt a patient long-term view, and understand why established companies often struggle to respond to disruption.

He explains that breakthrough technologies are frequently underestimated. Early forecasts predicted a market of only around one million mobile phones, yet the technology eventually reached billions of users. For Tom, this shows the importance of recognising innovations that can fundamentally change behaviour.

The conversation explores the origins of Atomico’s State of European Tech report. What began as a PowerPoint presentation became a major annual platform covering investment, talent, liquidity, regulation, and entrepreneurship. It was created to address the lack of shared, evidence-based information about Europe’s technology ecosystem.

Tom previews themes expected in the next edition, including progress in funding innovation, reducing regulatory friction, empowering talent, and encouraging greater risk tolerance. The report will also examine technological sovereignty and resilience across energy, computing, and defence.

He argues that Europe suffers from a “commitment gap”. Policymakers and industry leaders may support initiatives such as EU Inc. and greater institutional investment in technology, but implementation is often slowed by political deadlock. Progress therefore requires decisive leadership at national and European levels.

Tom also explains how the report serves different audiences. Investors may focus on funding and liquidity, while policymakers are more interested in regulation and ecosystem sentiment. By making its data downloadable, Atomico enables journalists, founders, investors, and researchers to develop their own interpretations.

The report has become a year-round initiative involving research partnerships, newsletters, roundtables, and wider industry engagement. Atomico also experiments with new formats, including synthetic audience tools, interactive question-and-answer features, and video content.

The interview concludes by reflecting on Atomico’s 20-year history. When the firm was founded, the idea that Europe could produce globally significant technology companies and establish venture capital as a major asset class was far from certain. Tom believes the ecosystem has since exceeded expectations, while Atomico has helped place European entrepreneurship on the global map.

Key Points

• Tom’s telecommunications background shaped his analytical, long-term approach to venture capital and disruption.
• Breakthrough innovations are often underestimated before reaching mass adoption.
• The State of European Tech report provides a shared, evidence-based view of Europe’s technology ecosystem.
• The next report will examine funding, regulation, talent, risk tolerance, sovereignty, and resilience.
• Europe must close the gap between political commitments and implementation through stronger leadership.
• Atomico’s belief in European technology has been validated by the ecosystem’s growth and global relevance.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Lena Hackelöer, founder & CEO at Brite Payments, to explore the company’s growth, the future of European payments, and the challenges facing fintech founders.

Lena shares how Brite has evolved from a Swedish startup founded in 2019 into a leading pay-by-bank provider operating across 27 European markets. Following its Series A round, the company expanded into Germany and France.

She reflects on how her early career shaped her entrepreneurial approach. Her experience at Klarna during its hypergrowth phase taught her how to build and internationalise a fast-moving fintech company, while a later role in a listed financial services business exposed her to operating in a highly regulated environment.

Lena also discusses European payment sovereignty. Brite is building a pan-European instant payment network that reduces reliance on non-European infrastructure, but she argues that sovereignty alone will not drive adoption. Merchants and consumers ultimately prioritise convenience, reliability, conversion rates, and lower processing costs.

The conversation examines the difficulty of scaling across Europe. Differences in language, culture, banking systems, regulation, and consumer behaviour mean the continent cannot be treated as a single market. Although licences can be passported across the European Union, requirements may still vary between regulators.

Lena explains why localisation is essential. German consumers often place greater emphasis on security and data protection, while Swedish users are more comfortable with digital transparency. Brite therefore combines centralised technology with local expertise, adapting its strategy to each market.

Looking ahead, Lena sees convenience as the main driver of pay-by-bank adoption. Improvements in mobile banking, app-to-app authentication, and instant payments are making the experience faster, enabling instant confirmation, rapid refunds, and quicker payouts.

The interview concludes with a discussion about female entrepreneurship and representation in fintech. Lena believes progress is being made as more women gain senior experience and professional networks. However, funding inequalities, limited access to technical careers, and low female participation in engineering remain significant barriers.

Key Points
• Brite Payments has grown from a Swedish startup into a pan-European pay-by-bank platform operating across 27 markets.
• Lena’s experience at Klarna helped shape her entrepreneurial approach and payments expertise.
• European payment sovereignty matters, but adoption depends on convenience, reliability, conversion rates, and commercial value.
• Fragmented regulation, banking infrastructure, and consumer behaviour make European expansion complex.
• Mobile banking, instant payments, and app-to-app authentication are making pay-by-bank services faster and more attractive.
• Greater female representation will require better access to funding, technical careers, and senior leadership opportunities.

In this exclusive interview, we sit down with Tim Schumacher, the visionary co-founder of saas.group and General Partner at World Fund, to explore the journey, philosophy, and future of his founder-friendly SaaS acquisition platform and his ClimateTech investments.

Tim shares how saas.group evolved from its first acquisition, DeployBot, to a thriving ecosystem of 18 independent SaaS brands spanning 30 countries. He dives deep into the core values that drive saas.group’s success: a commitment to preserving the bootstrapper mindset, fostering cultural alignment, and ensuring every acquisition is tailored to the founder’s personal and professional goals.

Tim also reflects on the unique challenges and opportunities in the SaaS acquisition space. He discusses why saas.group focuses on niche, revenue-driven companies often overlooked by traditional private equity firms, and how their model prioritises autonomy, transparency, and long-term partnership over purely financial metrics.

From the importance of honest conversations about founders’ motivations to the practicalities of due diligence and integration, Tim pulls back the curtain on what it takes to create a dream exit for entrepreneurs.

Beyond SaaS, Tim’s passion for sustainability and climate action shines through as he discusses his role as a General Partner at World Fund, a climate tech VC backing scalable, emissions-reducing technologies.

He shares his perspective on the progress of decarbonisation, the role of technology in addressing climate change, and the lessons learned from building and supporting impact-driven ventures like Ecosia, the search engine that plants trees.

As the conversation turns to the future, Tim paints a picture of the ecosystem he aims to cultivate over the next decade - one where founders retain their identity, teams thrive in collaborative environments, and businesses drive meaningful change.

Join us for a deep dive with Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of Remote, as he explores the evolution of work, the challenges of global employment, and the principles behind scaling remote-first teams.

From his transition from neuroscientist to startup leader, to the lessons learned at GitLab and Remote, Job shares insights on mindset shifts, cultural nuances, and the future of distributed work.

Job discusses the practical challenges of building a globally distributed team, the importance of asynchronous communication, and why treating all employees as equals - regardless of location - is key to fostering a cohesive culture.

In this conversation, Job reflects on the hidden costs of traditional office work, the importance of flexibility, and how Remote is transforming global employment infrastructure. He also addresses the remote vs. in-person debate, the role of time zones in global collaboration, and what founders should prioritise when hiring talent worldwide.