Highland Europe

We were thrilled to see so many of our brilliant portfolio companies included in Sifted’s B2B SaaS Rising 100 list including PVcase, SoSafe, ActiveFence and hyperexponential. The past two years have been some of the hardest on record for SaaS companies with companies tightening their belts and slashing software budgets. Yet, these companies have stayed true to their core values and continued to win new customers and deals. Well done to all the companies named and here’s to another successful year for SaaS! #SaaS #growthstage

Welcome to our new space! We celebrated our new office opening this week with sunshine, flowing drinks, and lively conversations. We were delighted to welcome our guests to mark the occasion with us and a huge thank you to all who joined. We haven’t moved far (just across Golden Square) but we’re incredibly happy to be in our new home and look forward to using this space to guide great European companies through their journeys. We hope to see you there! 

Welcome to the Highland Europe family FINBOURNE Technology! Over the past few years, Thomas M. and the team have built a revolutionary SaaS platform, enabling many of the world’s biggest financial institutions to move to modern data architecture to optimise decision making and support them in taking advantage of the benefits of AI. We look forward to working with the team as they expand beyond the UK, including in the US, Singapore and Australia. https://lnkd.in/e8UBjdXU #growth #VC #fintech

💡David Trainavicius founded PVcase in 2018 to power the change to renewable energy systems. The company is making solar project design faster, more efficient and precise in 75 countries. The company joined Highland’s portfolio last year and recently won BloombergNEF’s annual Pioneers competition for the most promising climate tech. Here David shares his perspective on the growth journey. How has your perspective as a founder or CEO changed from early stage to growth stage? We knew from the start that we were entering a huge field with renewable energy, but as we've grown, we’ve seen how quickly this space is evolving. When I first started in the industry, renewable energy was nice to have. Today, it’s a necessity for governments, corporations and individuals. This shift has validated our mission and broadened my perspective on what we can achieve. What early investments paid off the most when scaling? Early on, we decided to invest for the long term. It wasn't enough to know what our clients needed now; we needed to invest in deeply understanding the market to anticipate future needs as well through building a one-stop solar design platform that prevents data risk and enables automation to improve deployment of solar projects. This long-term thinking influences every part of our operations, from our processes to hiring and helps us to keep ahead of our customers’ needs, as we’ve scaled. What key strategies have you used to achieve sustainable growth in the past few years? Our growth is built on two key pillars – ensuring it is as sustainable as our products and partnering with top investors. Our deep market knowledge has allowed us to precisely plan and optimise growth. This shows we’re a stable, attractive investment and means we can partner with investors who contribute to our growth in meaningful ways, beyond capital. How did you maintain your company culture during rapid growth? As the company has grown, so has the team and we now have 300 global members including in Vilnius, Kaunas, Madrid, Berlin, London, Boulder and Boston. It’s important to me and the culture of PVcase that we can be together. We attend conferences together, hold dinners and host events – from summer camps in the Lithuanian countryside to Christmas parties. Getting together allows the team to connect and foster a sense of belonging. If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself at the start of the growth stage? Trust my gut instinct more and make decisions faster. In the early days, there's a tendency to seek input from multiple people and while this is important, it’s time-consuming. Deep down, you often know the best course of action. This isn't about being reckless - it’s about recognising the value of agility in a fast-moving market and striking a balance between careful consideration and the dynamism needed to seize opportunities. A certain level of risk is inevitable and necessary. #venturecapital #growthstories

An extraordinary story of life and a death, literally, and how a company can facilitate generosity and philanthropy while building enterprise value. An inspiring story Dan Garrett.

Well done to our portfolio company Farewill which has recently passed a major milestone of raising £1 billion for charities in legacy will donations. Within 18 months of launching, Farewill became the UK’s biggest wills company and is empowering people to shape their end of life by offering funerals and probate assistance.  By focusing on great design and strategic partnerships, Farewill continues to transform the way that people approach death, while also ensuring that so many fantastic charities will receive meaningful legacies in future. CEO Dan Garrett talked to Richard Tyler The Times about his scaling journey.

💡Alexandar Vassilev joined WeTransfer in 2020 and became CEO in 2022. Since then the company has continued to grow profitably while solving problems for millions of creative professionals and creators. Through its dual business model, WeTransfer serves hundreds of global brands with premium advertising and has over 500,000+ subscribers. Here, Alexander shares WeTransfer’s #growthstory. 🖊️ How has your perspective as a founder or CEO changed from the early stage to the growth stage? In the early days of WeTransfer, the emphasis was on product development and market fit. As we matured, this shifted towards how we stay relevant, particularly in an increasingly digital world in which people expect companies to keep raising the bar and stay ahead of the innovation curve. Standing still is not an option, so you must become comfortable with change. Change is the only constant. Being adaptable and resilient to external factors and the advances being seen with technologies like AI is critical. As a leader, you must encourage a resilient and adaptable culture. That way you’re always ready for the next growth stage. 🖊️ Was there one counter-intuitive strategy that worked for you? Diversification is seen as the path to relevance but we’ve seen huge success from taking a “less is more” approach. As a platform deeply embedded in the creative workflow, we had possibilities to move into different areas but we decided to commit to simplicity and efficiency. We spend a lot of time refining and perfecting core solutions to complicated problems, giving us a deep understanding of the barriers facing our creative community. In turn, this has driven further relevance. 🖊️ Which early investment paid off the most when scaling? Our "less is more" approach saw us invest significantly in our core infrastructure, particularly security, privacy, and scalability. This work was key to ensuring we are ready for increased activity as we build more features and ensure alignment with sustainability goals. The strategic choice paid off massively, helping us manage global expansion demands without worrying about our infrastructure. It’s a privilege that has allowed us to scale new capabilities across our global base quickly and sustainably. 🖊️ What are the options for growth stage companies like yours when the IPO/exit market has slowed down? The global economy is going through turbulent times, with fluctuations in public markets felt by brands and creative industries, our customer base. My philosophy is to focus on what you can control. At WeTransfer, we are driven by our core mission of serving our users with beautifully simple technology. This focus has allowed us to remain resilient and flexible, even as the wider market dynamics have shifted. Our continued growth is a testament to this. By hyper-focusing and concentrating on where your strengths meet your users' needs, you will take your business to new heights, regardless of the market’s ebbs and flows.

In a world where AI adoption is increasingly becoming the name of the game, how should CEOs be preparing for regulatory changes and what will it mean for the AI industry in Europe? We're thrilled to share that Featurespace's CEO, Martina King, is attending The Wall Street Journal's CEO Council Summit on May 9th to speak on AI in the EU, where she will share her thoughts on the EU AI Act, Featurespace's 10+ year AI journey, and how these regulations might influence the future of the industry. Chaired by Sam Schechner, Technology Reporter The Wall Street Journal, Martina will join the discussion with John W Cassidy, Kindred Capital VC, and Martin Tisné, CEO AI Collaborative. The WSJ's CEO Council Summit stands as a paramount assembly of the world's top leaders, providing a space to come together for profound discussions on key global issues.

One of the biggest milestones in European tech is successfully expanding to the US to reach more customers and more investors. But what do you do when a US competitor lands in Europe, to take a bite out of your business? Our partner David Blyghton shares his ideas with Sifted. He favours a strategic approach that should not only see off the competition but also help your business emerge stronger than ever before. Read the article here - what are your go-to strategies for when the competition turns up on home ground? #growthstage #europeantech #uscompetitors