Fundraising For Startups

Analyzing five different startups to understand how they handled

the fundraising problem.
Ibrahim Chit

Research Assignment
Main Area: Business Administration
Credits: 15
Semester/year: Autumn 2022
Supervisor: Professor Carles Martinez-Mari Agell
Abstract
In this research, the funding process of successful startups in Sweden and
Barcelona was analyzed. It was found that the pre-seed round, which was a
crucial phase according to theory, was often not well documented due to the
early nature of the business. In the seed round, Swedish startups often sought
investments from local venture capitalists and angel investors, while Barcelona
startups may have had more opportunities to receive funding from investors
outside the region. The mid-stage funding process, which includes Series A and
B rounds, included all startups studied in this research, which displayed that the
startups tried to secure funding for long-term profitability through strong
business strategies and partnerships with investors. Both Swedish and Barcelona
startups can go more international and target larger markets when trying to
receive funding at this stage. The startups that progressed to the later stages of
the funding process, such as Series C and D, showed that these rounds were
characterized by acquisitions, sustainability investments, and the participation of
private equity firms as the startups expanded globally. These rounds also involve
the pursuit of an IPO, where the studied startups demonstrated a tendency
towards aggression in their approach to funding rounds to reach the IPO goal.

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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 3
1.1 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................ 3
1.2 PROBLEM .................................................................................................... 4
1.3 PURPOSE ..................................................................................................... 5
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................ 5
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................. 6
2.1 DEBT AND EQUITY FINANCING .................................................................... 6
2.2 PRE-SEEDS AND SEEDS ............................................................................... 8
2.2.1 Friends and family ............................................................................ 10
2.2.2 Business grants.................................................................................. 11
2.3 SERIES FUNDING ....................................................................................... 13
2.4 EQUITY INVESTORS ................................................................................... 16
2.4.1 Venture Capital ................................................................................. 16
2.4.3 Crowdfunding .................................................................................... 20
2.4.4 Private equity .................................................................................... 21
2.5 DEBT FUNDING ......................................................................................... 23
2.5.1 Loans ................................................................................................. 23
2.5.2 Lines of Credit ................................................................................... 24
3. RESEARCH METHOD ............................................................................. 25
3.1 METHOD OF CHOICE .................................................................................. 25
3.2 DATA COLLECTION, VERIFICATION, AND VALIDATION .............................. 26
3.3 CHOSEN STARTUPS ................................................................................... 27
4. RESULTS FROM DATA COLLECTION............................................... 29
4.1 VOI TECHNOLOGY .................................................................................... 29
4.2 TRUSTLY................................................................................................... 32
4.3 HEAP CARSHARING................................................................................... 34
4.4 TRAVELPERK ............................................................................................ 36
4.5 BADI ......................................................................................................... 39
5. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................... 41
5.1 EARLY-STAGE FUNDING ............................................................................ 41
5.2 MID-STAGE FUNDING ................................................................................ 44
5.3 LATE-STAGE FUNDING .............................................................................. 46
6. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................... 49
7. REFERENCES............................................................................................ 51

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1. Introduction
In this part, the reader will firstly be introduced to the background of the
problem. The background will start broad regarding businesses and economic
value, before narrowing it down to the problem and this study’s purpose.

1.1 Background

Creativity and entrepreneurship are two of the primary factors for creating
economic value (Barnard and Herbst, 2017). An innovation, beating out rivals
in the market, developing an income stream where none previously existed, or
improving brand recognition are all examples of how value may be created.
Barnard and Herbst (2017) implies that new entities that are valuable need to be
created to drive society as a whole forward. Technology, resources, and
possibilities always arise, where it is up to society to make use of them.
Established businesses invest a lot of money on research and development to be
able to understand new markets and needs. However, they already have a
business and a segment that they must focus on, which makes it hard for these
companies to also drive the future forward. Therefore, new businesses must arise
to disrupt the established industries where it is possible (Barnard and Herbst,
2017).

Individuals’ creativity, knowledge, and driving force make them want to start
startups to generate this economic value. According to Dunn and Cheatham
(1993), a startup is a new business designed to look for a business model that is
repeatable and scalable. Being scalable is one of the important pillars for a
business to be considered a startup. Scalable means that there is a product or
need that has been built and can be sold or used without significant additional
costs or difficulties (Dunn and Cheatham, 1993). For example, software and
application businesses are scalable because of their simplicity for millions of
customers to use. Consulting businesses, for example, are not scalable because

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they require a lot of labor and there are only twenty-four hours in a day. Being
scalable also means that the business operates in a large market, where
progressively more customers can connect.

There is also another key difference between a startup and a traditional new
business, which is the initial investment (Dunn and Cheatham, 1993). A regular
business expects to lose a bit of money in the early stages but predicts that it will
quickly become profitable and have slow and steady growth. For a startup,
however, one expects to invest and lose massive amounts of money in the
beginning before the massive profits are reached. The line between growth and
profit is much steeper than in regular businesses. However, because of their
disruptive and new ideas, startups pose a much greater risk (Dunn and Cheatham,
1993). The massive risk is also not exaggerated; up to 90% of startups fail, with
the failure rate peaking between years two and five. Having startups fail in that
range also means they fail after investments have been made.

1.2 Problem

As noted, startups require a lot of money before profits are made. Generally,
founders do not have the required money for the business model or do not want
to put themselves alone at risk of failure (Halt et al., 2017). Therefore, the
funders seek outside investments to help finance the project. The problem is,
however, how startups can obtain different types of investments. Gathering these
investments can be difficult and require a lot of time and effort. Therefore,
understanding different funding methods for startups is essential. What
advantages and disadvantages different funding methods have is something
funders must be aware of in order to choose the best possible path for the startup
to take.

The funding problem is a problem all startups encounter on numerous different

levels. Therefore, this assignment is going to analyze different startups and
observe how they are handling the funding problem. The requirements for the

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startups are that they follow the requirement of a business being called a
"startup" and have headquarters in Europe. The funding methods across
continents can be different regarding available options, which is why this will
focus on Europe. Since only a few startups will be analyzed, no conclusions
regarding the funding methods for the continent overall will be made. The
problem is more with studying and researching the chosen startups to analyze
their funding methods and why they choose those methods.

1.3 Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyze different startups in Europe and their
funding methods. The study desire to research the startups to obtain their
motivations for the chosen funding methods and see how they contrast with
written theory.

1.4 Research questions

The research questions that will be answered in this study are:

• How did successful startups in Barcelona and Sweden gain fundraising?

• What are the similarities and differences for fundraising between startups
in Barcelona and Sweden?

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2. Theoretical framework
This part will firstly explain the difference between debt and equity financing,
which is key to getting a good understanding of different funding methods. Later,
different funding definitions and methods will be explained. The general format
for each method is to explain the method and give some advantages and
disadvantages for each method. This chapter will give a good overview of each
method, but if the reader is interested in a more in-depth analysis of each method,
they are referred to the sources used in the chapter.

2.1 Debt and equity financing

One important distinction to realize in financing is the difference between debt
and equity financing. Halt et al. (2017) explains equity financing as a sale of a
minority stake in the company to raise funds. This can be done by either a third-
party investor who has no existing stake in the company or by existing investors
who want to obtain more control of the company. Outside investors can be
investment banks, venture capitalists, or angel investors. Normally, equity
financing is most suitable for businesses in the startup stage that have no
financial history or collateral (Gompers et al., 2003). The main advantage of
equity funding is that there is no obligation to repay the acquired money. Equity
financing allows the entrepreneurs to focus more on the business rather than
worrying about the repayment of debt. Gompers et al. (2003) emphasizes that
equity financing does not place additional financial burden on the company and
there are no required monthly payments, the startup has more capital available
to invest in growing the business. The most significant disadvantage of equity
funding is that the entrepreneur loses control of the company, and profits must
be shared.

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Debt financing refers to borrowing funds from a lender and then paying them
back with interest over a defined period (Ghosh and Moon, 2010). The most
common forms of debt financing are loans and overdrafts. There are many
different sources for the loan, for example, banks, personal loans, or fixed-
income debt securities, and each of these sources has its own benefits and
drawbacks. Ghosh and Moon (2010) mention that the common benefit of debt
financing is that the lender has no control over the company. Unlike equity
funding, debt funding does not involve surrendering any part of ownership or
control. Once the loan is paid back, the relationship with the lender ends.
Furthermore, the interest paid on the loan is tax-deductible, which is a positive
for businesses. Obtaining debt financing, on the other hand, can be difficult
because it requires a good credit score, and financial performance matters a lot
(Halt et al., 2017). The downside of debt is also significant, as it is an expense
that must be paid on a regular basis. If the company, or the economy, hits hard
times and there is no capital in the company, then it can lead to difficulties.

The difference in time horizons between debt and equity funding is an important
consideration. Equity investors typically have a longer-term investment horizon,
as they are looking to grow their investment over a period of several years or
more (Halt et al., 2017). The focus of equity financing is to provide a company
with long-term growth capital and to align the interests of the company and its
investors. On the other hand, debt financing comes with an obligation to repay
the loan along with interest over a set period of time, typically a few years (Halt
et al., 2017). The focus of debt financing is to meet short-term funding needs and
be able to handle the set repayment schedule.

Which one to choose for a startup depends on several factors, such as current
profitability, reliance on ownership and control, and whether the company can
qualify for either one or the other (Halt et al., 2017). Businesses in the startup
stage will traditionally pursue equity financing, while companies that are already
established, have less problem with debt. If early stage startups possess a strong

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credit score, they might pursue traditional debt financing types like small
business loans.

2.2 Pre-seeds and Seeds

Funding for a startup is a continuous process that does not end after one initial
investment. As the business develops and advances, more capital will always be
required to continue the expansion (Halt et al., 2017). To get a general view on
how funding evolves for a startup, it can start with small capital gains from credit
cards or friends and family. But when the startup is in need of the big money,
that is when the so-called rounds start. A "funding round" is when money is
raised from one or more investors for a business.

The pre-seed stage is the absolute beginning of a startup, where the founders
start to evaluate the idea and market (Halt et al., 2017). In this stage, it is
uncommon to get outside investments, but it is an important stage to get a good
foundation for the potential pitches in later rounds. Skala (2019) describes this
stage as an important process that is used to unlock doors where more capital
can be obtained in future rounds. Possible sources of funding in this round are
friends and family, but personal investments are also an important factor in this
round. Making a self-investment in a burgeoning startup demonstrates to
potential investors your confidence and dedication to the business. Investors are
often more inclined to make an investment in a startup where the founders are
willing to financially back their own business endeavor (Skala, 2019). Different
personal investments can come from savings, borrowing from real estate assets,
or liquidating personal assets.

A concept to realize is that each round depends on the stage of the company, not
the size of each round (Dunn and Cheatham, 1993). That is, the size of a round
can vary a lot for different startups, where the name of the round depends on the
stage of the company. Furthermore, a round should also provide enough capital

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to reach the next round. According to Dunn and Cheatham (1993) this is a
common mistake founders make. Founders can raise money without doing the
mathematics and analytics to confirm that the raised money is enough to reach
the next round.

At the outset of each round of funding, the startup undergoes a valuation, that is,
a current assessment of how much the business is worth (Moro-Visconti, 2021).
Valuations are based on several factors, including market size, the company’s
risk profile at a particular stage of development, and the company’s track record
for success up to the time of the valuation. From this valuation investors can
determine how much funding to offer the company in exchange for a certain
amount of equity in the company (Moro-Visconti, 2021).

The seed round can be seen as the first official equity funding stage. Seed
funding is therefore used to grow the product, business, and launch the idea,
where going for an outside investment is more likely to yield success (Halt et al,
2017). The funding helps a startup finance its first step, including standard steps
such as market research and product development. Since the startup also has
more of an opportunity to obtain outside investors and partners, assistance and
support from experts become more available. This implies that issues such as
determining the final product and the target segment can be addressed.

The earlier the stage of an investment, the higher the risk the investors are taking
(Caggese, 2012). Because the company is still in the development stages, there
is no significant revenue and no clear market, and the idea and the business plan
are still subject to uncertainties. Caggese (2012) also points out that timing is
one of the most important factors for a successful startup, which still cannot be
accessed in the seed stage. Therefore, investments during the seed round imply
a high risk of losing the invested money. The higher risk is in an investment,
however, also equivalent more equity in the company, and vice versa. Risk and

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return are important concepts to keep in mind in the financial market, where an
investor expects a high return if they take a high risk (Skala, 2019).

Potential investors in a seed funding situation are the same as pre-seed investors,
but now there are also bigger third parties, such as venture capitalists and angel
investors (Halt et al., 2017). One thing to note is that while friends and family
can provide both debt and equity funding, venture capitalists and angel investors
provide equity funding. Because of the knowledge, support, and time that these
investors normally put into startups, a loan is not sufficient for them. They
therefore expect an equity stake in the company. To give an idea of the size of
the seed round, the round can generate anywhere from $10,000 up to $2 million
for the startup in question (McGowan, 2022). This is obviously a wide interval,
but as noted earlier, it is the stage of the company that determines the round and
not the size.

2.2.1 Friends and family

Friends and family funding are convenient sources of pre-seed and seed funding
for many startups (Halt et al, 2017). Whether it is an equity or debt investment,
the amount of capital that can be acquired depends greatly on their financial
resources and the confidence their friends and family have in the entrepreneur
and the business concept. Since these investments are early in the development
stage, there is a lot of risk for the investor. According to Halt et al. (2017) one
important note when obtaining an investment, especially from friends and
family, is to have a corporation. This corporation will allow the founders and
investors to agree on ownership and decision-making for the business and
provide a layer of protection for different scenarios. For seed funding, Halt et al.
(2017) also notes that it can be difficult to manage the investments of friends and
family if there are also third-party investors interested because of the existing
relationship. As a result, it is critical to treat these loans or investments as any
other source of funding and to establish the terms early on.

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Investments from friends and family are also beneficial because they show
bigger investors, such as angel investors or venture capitals, that one is willing
to take the step and ask friends and family for funding (Lee and Persson, 2016).
Being able to ask and receive money from friends and family is a good indicator
to investors that one is willing to have sensitive conversations and believes in
the idea. Not only does it show that one has the courage to ask family for help,
and possibly risk that relationship if the plan fall short, but it also shows that
friends and family believe in the entrepreneur. Lee and Persson (2016) also
emphasizes that the friend or family member is usually not experienced in
investing in startups, thus, if they do invest, it indicates belief in the entrepreneur.
Investments from friends and family are thus beneficial not only financially, but
also in terms of the influence they can have on future investments.

2.2.2 Business grants

Business grants are a perfectly adequate option to raise funding during the early
stages of a project. Grants are commonly awarded to startups that are involved
in a certain industry or business that furthers the goals of the entity financing the
grant (Halt et al, 2017). Grants are available at numerous different levels, such
as local, national, and union levels. For example, at the local level, local
governments are more inclined to award grants to startups if the startups will
bring tourism or additional jobs to the area. More national grants are available
for startups to conduct more high-tech, medical, or scientific research and
development (Nicholson, 2019). These startups can also take it one step further
and apply for grants that are available for European startups from the European
Commission (European Commission, 2022). The European Commission
provides grants to support projects and startups that further the interests of the
EU, where there are several large funding programs.

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There are also several privately funded grants that are made available by
established businesses, other organizations, and private foundations (Nicholson,
2019). These grants generally have specific qualification requirements and are
usually awarded to startups with a targeted cause. Nicholson (2019), however,
also points out that finding private grants for startups can take effort and
identifying ones that the startup qualifies for can be time-consuming. Applying
for grants can be complicated and bureaucratic, which is why many startups
decide not to apply. Nevertheless, most of the required material can be found in
a business plan, which all startups must have in order to acquire funding from
angel investors or venture capitals. The payout of the grants can be significant;
grants are basically free money that has stipulations on how it can be spent
(Nicholson, 2019).

One example of a European grant is NextGenerationEU. NextGenerationEU is

an 800 billion euro recovery plan proposed by the European Commission in
response to the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
(NextGenerationEU, n.d.). The European Commission describes the centerpiece
of this Recovery and Resilience Facility as being a part of broader efforts to
sustain economic recovery for states and citizens. NextGenerationEU will
provide financial support to countries in the form of grants and loans, with a
focus on key areas such as health, digital transformation, green transition, and
employment (NextGenerationEU, n.d.). Overall, the grant also wants to help
startups reach the EU's long-term goals in areas such as sustainability, digital
structure, and health safety. To reach the goals, society needs companies that
focus on these targets, and the European Commission wants to help the startups.

Another example of a European grant is Horizon Europe. Horizon Europe is a

research and innovation funding program established by the EU to support the
development of new ideas and technologies across a range of areas, including
health, digitalization, energy, and climate (Horizon Europe, n.d.). The EU
describes the program as designed to support the objective of becoming a world-

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leading scientific and technological powerhouse and make sure that EU citizens
can benefit from the latest innovations and scientific advances. Horizon Europe
has a budget of 95.5 billion euros and will run until 2027. Furthermore, the
program offers funding opportunities for startup projects in high-risk, high-
reward businesses (Horizon Europe, n.d.). That is, high-risk projects can also
receive funding opportunities as long as there is enough technological and
desirable upside to the project. Another key objective with Horizon Europe is to
support collaboration between researchers and innovators across the EU and
beyond. The program encourages the sharing of knowledge, ideas, and expertise
and promotes the development of international partnerships to support the
development of new technologies and innovations (International Cooperation,
n.d.).

2.3 Series funding

After the seed round, equity funding can be obtained in a series of rounds, where
each round in the series is given a corresponding letter based on how many
rounds of funding the company has participated in, Series A, Series B, Series C,
etc. (Halt et al., 2017). For some startups, a seed funding round is all that the
founders believe is necessary to successfully get their company off the ground.
These startups may never engage in a series of rounds of funding and still
succeed. In a series round, however, professional investors generally decide to
participate since the startup has gained traction in the market and is a lower
investment risk.

The first round is Series A funding. In this round, it is essential to have a plan
for developing a business model that will generate long-term profit. Investors
are not only looking for great ideas, but also a good idea together with a strong
strategy for turning that idea into a successful business (Halt et al., 2017).
Furthermore, showing traction on the market is important for investors at this
stage to strengthen the idea. Signs of good product-market fits and scalability
are factors that investors are looking for. The financial requirements to obtain

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Series A and all other rounds of funding are heavily dependent on the industry
and the landscape. Therefore, Dunn and Cheatham (1993) notes that there is no
financial benchmark a startup must reach to obtain Series A funding, but more
organizational and growth variables. Series A financing is primarily used to
ensure the continued growth of the startup. The common goals in the Series A
round include reaching milestones in product development and attracting new
talent.

According to Halt et al. (2017) the biggest investors are venture capital firms.
The Series A funding process became very formal as well. The investors will
want to have a say in the company, and they will do so by selecting a board for
the startup. The board, which the investors trust, will make sure that the business
follows the bylaws set together. Furthermore, funding rounds are frequently tied
to an anchor or brand-name venture capital firm (Halt et al., 2017). If the startup
is raising millions of dollars, one is not going to want to find dozens of angel
investors. Angel investors can also invest at this stage, but they have much less
influence on the startup. Companies at this stage look for venture capital firms
that can lead the round. Halt et al. (2017) implies that the anchor or lead takes
care of the diligence, negotiates the deal, and provides credibility to the company
so that other investors can follow suit. Another option for funding is
crowdfunding. If there is an anchor firm, the anchor typically commits to a
portion of the desired equity while the remainder is obtained through
crowdfunding and other investors. The more traction the company has gained,
the larger the Series A round becomes. As noted earlier, the size of each round
varies a lot, but to give some indication, the size of the round usually ranges from
€2 million to €15 million (McGowan, 2022).

During each round, there are some important concepts to think about. As noted
earlier, the funding raised during each round should be enough to take the startup
into the next stage. Carrying out a funding round requires resources and takes
time that could be used on developing the startup instead, which is why one

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cannot afford to have consecutive rounds (Dunn and Cheatham, 1993).
Furthermore, larger rounds of equity financing will be funded in tranches, which
allow the investors to give the money over time instead of all at once.

If the startup goes to the next round, Series B, C, D, etc. are all about taking the
business to the next level (Halt et al., 2017). In these stages, companies are
making millions of dollars a year and have a clearly defined market and prepare
to take over. Eckbo (2014) describes taking over as merging with or acquiring
another company, which will require a lot of resources. This is an expensive
process where capital will also be needed for resources such as an experienced
team. To obtain the funding for these series, it is crucial to show a complete
understanding of the metrics and everything about the customer (Halt et al,
2017). Financial metrics are quantitative measures used to evaluate the
productivity and performance of a business. Since the startup is already
established, it is also important to have a 5-year financial model that includes
different worst case and best-case scenarios to show the investors. These are less
risky investments for the investors, but a lot more money will be needed from
them. A series B round can range up to €50 million, where later round will only
require more and more capital (McGowan, 2022).

In later stages, groups such as hedge funds, investment banks, and private
equity firms accompany the types of investors mentioned above (Dunn and
Cheatcham, 1993). Typically, a startup's external equity funding will end with
Series C. Series C funding will usually be enough to continue developing on a
global scale. However, some companies can go on to Series D and even Series
E rounds of funding as well. Startups can also utilize Series C funding as a tool
to boost valuations in anticipation of an IPO. At this point, the startups enjoy
higher valuations (Dunn and Cheatcham, 1993). Startups that do continue with
more Series rounds tend to do so either because they want a final push before an
IPO or, because they have not yet been able to achieve the goals that were set
out during Series C funding.

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When startups reach the later stages, equity investors must obtain their profits
and returns if they have not yet sold their shares. In addition to IPOs, another
exit strategy can be to let the startup be acquired by another business giant (Halt
et al., 2017). A merger and acquisition involve the sale of a startup to another
company, which can be an attractive exit strategy for VCs and private equity
firms as it allows them to realize a return on their investment through the sale of
the company. These exit strategies are typically implemented in later rounds,
whereas earlier round exit strategies typically involve selling equity shares in a
series round to another VC or similar to profit.

2.4 Equity investors

In this section different equity investors will be explained. What the investors do
and some of their advantages and disadvantages will be explained.

2.4.1 Venture Capital

Venture capital, or VC, is money that is provided by investors who work for a
VC firm to startups that have the potential to reshape markets and grow fast
(Manigart and Sapienza, 2017). VC firms employ investors to invest in different
startups to build a portfolio of startups and minimize their investment risks. VC
investors work primarily with entrepreneurs to help them build their businesses
from the ground up in three main ways (Manigart and Sapienza, 2017). The first
and most well-known way is through funding. VC investors provide injections
of capital that help companies hire talent and scale their operations. The second
is by providing insight; the best VC investors have a great deal of experience
working with all kinds of different companies. VC investors can therefore be
great tutors for new entrepreneurs, especially during the toughest of times. The
third is by providing a strong network; most VC investors and firms are well
connected and can help entrepreneurs with introductions to key business
relationships. Manigart and Sapienza (2017) says that VC firms are typically

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divided by the stages they invest in. That is, some firms are more focused on the
idea stage, while others are more specialized in the growth stage. There are
thousands of VCs around the world, but some notable ones in Sweden are:
Northzone, who focus on early-stage funding; Alfvén & Didrikson, who focus
on technology startups; and SEB Venture Capital, who focus on sustainability.
Some big VCs in Barcelona and Spain are Mundi Ventures, Breega, and Target
Global.

One important thing to understand about VC is that not all types of companies
have access to raising VC (Kim and Lee, 2022). VC normally comes when a
company can scale massively. These startups can multiply their revenue year-
on-year for a few years, getting to hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.
Not all companies can achieve this. Kim and Lee (2022) notes that because
marketing agencies, consulting firms, and development firms cannot grow
quickly enough, they do not qualify as venture-backed companies. VCs are
looking for companies like Shopify, where over a million people shop online.
They are looking for transformative companies that are using technology to
disrupt how millions of people do things.

Another important aspect to note is that VC investors typically don't receive any
returns unless they sell their equity to other investors in a later round (Manigart
and Sapienza, 2017). There is a possibility to receive some return through
dividends, but the primary return on the investment comes from the capital
gained when they eventually sell their shares, normally three to seven years after
the investment. This is important to realize because of the background of VC
firms. Manigart and Sapienza (2017) says that one of its most important
responsibilities for a VC firm is sourcing new stakeholders. It is from these
investments that the VC firms obtain the equity that they can invest in startups.
As a result, stakeholders expect a return or tangible results from their
investments. Therefore, the VC firm cannot wait too long before exiting since

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they want to obtain their returns. Either through an IPO or by selling shares, it
can put pressure on the founders.

A point of view regarding VC firms is that the VC firms are dependent on the
startups to do well. It is from the results of the startups that the stakeholders gain
their returns (Manigart and Sapienza, 2017). Therefore, VCs will put a lot of
effort and energy into their investments to make sure that the startup succeeds.
This background also means that the financing process is formal since the VCs
also must report to their stakeholders.

For a startup, choosing VC funding has its advantages and disadvantages. The
most notable advantages, as explained earlier, are that a large amount of capital
can be raised and that the startups gain new opportunities through the networks
and expertise that the VC firms provide (Jeong et al., 2020). Except that the
founders' ownership stake is reduced, a disadvantage is that finding investors can
distract founders from their business. Jeong et al. (2020) says that obtaining a
VC investment, a lot of work must be done for the startup through meetings,
describing the business idea both in writing and verbally, and disclosing required
documents. This process can take up to a year and does not always result in an
investment. Therefore, the startup must be cautious about whether they need and
have the resources to obtain a VC investment. Furthermore, cooperating with a
VC means that you have a highly involved stakeholder in the company, which
is not always desirable for the founders (Jeong et al., 2020). Requirements on a
formal reporting structure and setting up a board of directors can facilitate
growth and transparency for the company but also limit the founders' flexibility.

2.4.2 Angel funding

An angel investor is a person, business, or group that provides financial backing,

or funding, for startups (Prowse, 1998). That capital that angel investors provide
can either be a one-time injection of seed money or ongoing support to carry a

18
startup through difficult times. Prowse (1998) says that a business angel investor
usually is an entrepreneur who has exited their own successful startup and now
wants to give back to the industry. In general, the investment size is around tens
of thousands of dollars for 15–25 % of the company. This is, however, very
broad because it varies greatly. A better way to think about the investments from
angel investors is that they are early investors in the company, but not the first
(Prowse, 1998). That is, angel investors won’t invest in startups with nothing on
the table, but when the startup has built something, for example a prototype or a
website, and possibly already acquired some money through loans or family,
then the angel investor normally invests.

In addition to the financial benefits that angel investors provide, they also usually
take a hands-on approach (Halt et al., 2017). This approach implies that the
investor wants to spend time with the entrepreneur to push the business forward.
This can be done through mentoring, support, and contacts. Angel investors
obviously want their investments to succeed, which is why they will also put
time into the startup to ensure that that happens.

The risks for angel investors are high since they invest in the early stages of a
company (Caggese, 2012). As a result, angel investors experience both large
losses and large wins. It is through the big wins that angel investors make their
money (Prowse, 1998). That is, even if the loss-to-win ratio is 3:1, the wins could
make up for all the losses plus more. This is the reality many angel investors
understand, which is a big advantage for the startup. Unlike loans, the
entrepreneur is not required to pay back the investments in the event of business
failures because of equity financing (Halt et al., 2017). Another benefit for
startups is that angel funding is less formal than VCs (Hellmann et al., 2021). In
comparison to VC, angel investors are more of their own boss, which gives them
more freedom while interacting with a startup. Hellmann et al. (2021) describes
the funding process as more flexible for both the startup and the investor.
However, since the process is less formal, the negotiations for the potential deal

19
can be complicated. Both sides want to ensure they get a good deal, which can
often lead to a verbal back-and-forth but never a finalized agreement. Another
disadvantage is that the entrepreneur loses some control of the company. The
angel investors will have their say in the business, which can have its drawbacks.

2.4.3 Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is a relatively new way of raising capital from many individuals
or backers to finance a new business venture (Noor et al., 2022). Through the
collective efforts and cooperation of individuals' networks, crowdfunding can
make use of online platforms and crowdfunding websites to bring investors and
entrepreneurs together from all over the world. Each individual invested amount
is normally relatively small, but the sum of the investments intends to provide a
large sum of funding. Noor et al. (2022) implies that this new way of funding
wants to expand the pool of investors beyond the traditional ones, such as VCs,
angel investors, and relatives. However, not exactly everyone can invest in
crowdfunding because there are usually regulations and restrictions on the
investments to protect unexperienced investors from putting their savings at risk.
Rewards-based crowdfunding and regulation-based crowdfunding are the two
main types of crowdfunding (Halt et al., 2017).

With a reward-based crowdfunding model, investors in a startup or project

receive non-financial rewards in return (Halt et al., 2017). This could include
offering new products before they are launched, that is, preselling products at a
discounted price, or offering services. Additionally, startups that engage in
crowdfunding can utilize a tiered incentive system to encourage investors. Halt
et al. (2017) explains that different levels of rewards are offered based on the
amount of the investment that is made. This form of crowdfunding allows
companies to launch with orders already on the books, gather an audience, and
secure cash flow, which is a major problem for startups.

20
Regulation crowdfunding is when startups offer securities in the company in
exchange for capital (Halt et al., 2017). Because of the various tax implications
in different countries, there are many regulations for this type of crowdfunding.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the US has rules that
govern this kind of crowdfunding, while the European Commission also has
evolving regulation for this (European Commission - Crowdfunding, n.d.).
Therefore, each startup that is thinking about regulating crowdfunding must
know and understand the regulations they need to follow.

In addition to the capital advantages of crowdfunding, other advantages can

include the ability to provide access to a more diverse group of investors (Halt
et al, 2017). Crowdfunding can be an opportunity to raise awareness of the
startup’s idea or product among a crowd that is interested in investing. In
essence, crowdfunding can be a marketing opportunity as well as an opportunity
to raise capital. The disadvantages, which cannot be overlooked, are that there is
always the risk of an idea being stolen for early-stage startups (Halt et al., 2017).
Putting the business plan open for everyone is a risk. Furthermore, because of
various laws and platforms, crowdfunding requires a significant amount of time
and effort.

2.4.4 Private equity

Private equity refers to private equity firms that buy and merge private
companies that have not been listed on a stock exchange before selling them
(Metrick and Yasuda, 2010). The businesses are generally established
companies or startups with a stable cash flow and low leverage, or distressed
companies. Matrick and Yasuda (2010) says that most private equity firms try to
achieve is acquiring the entirety of the shares of the target, or at least 50 percent.
Following that, change management to position the company for growth through
active involvement and advisory services. This should improve the financial

21
performance and profitability. After a couple of years, the private equity firm is
looking to exit the investment through a sale or listing the startup. Some big
privet equity firms in Europe Bridgepoint, Bain Capital, and Nordic Capital.

The structure for a private equity fund is usually a closed-end fund limited
partnership (Fenn et al., 1996). In a limited partnership, there are general partners
and limited partners. General partners are involved with the management of the
fund, targeted portfolio selection, and post-investment advisory (Fenn et al.,
1996). The role of the limited partners is to provide investment capital to the
private equity firm. The class of investors can include pension funds, insurance
companies, and individuals (Fenn et al., 1996 Fenn et al., 1996). Limited partners
have no influence over investment decisions; they will have to trust the fund and
the portfolio manager. However, limited partners can decide to stop additional
investment in the fund if they become dissatisfied with the fund or the portfolio
manager.

The biggest advantages with private equity are the active involvement of the
project manager and the large fund amounts (Gompers and Lerner, 1997). Since
private equity firms are more hands-on, they can assist in every aspect of the
business to optimize its overall value. However, this can also be one of the
biggest disadvantages of equity funding, since the startup loses control
(Gompers and Lerner, 1997). Especially if the partners' concept and
methodology for increasing the startup's value do not match the general partners.
Furthermore, since private equity firms invest large sums, they will require a
large stake in the startup.

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2.5 Debt funding
In the section a few debt funding methods will be explained. What they are and
some of their advantages and disadvantages for the methods will be explained.
2.5.1 Loans
A common form of debt funding is loans (Halt et al., 2017). The loans are usually
gathered from banks or friends and family. Banks can offer special loans for
startups; however, they are hesitant to issue loans to unestablished startups
(Colombo and Grilli, 2007). Banks usually have a low-risk standpoint, which
makes them prefer to lend to businesses with a proven financial track record and
success. This can be for startups that are in the growth or expansion stage. It is
also possible to obtain financing for a startup through private loans made to the
founder personally if the funder has good credit and owns valuable assets (Halt
et al, 2017). However, Halt et al. (2017) highlights that combining the startup's
debts with the personal finances of a founder is mostly an unappealing option
since, if things fail, the individual founder would be left responsible for the loan's
repercussions.

Some banks have recently also started permitting the use of intellectual property,
IP, as collateral when obtaining a loan (Colombo and Grilli, 2007). IP-backed
lending is a relatively straight-forward debt instrument and can also allow the
business to improve its financing rates. IP-backed loans can be personal, that is,
paid out to a specific person, such as the startup's founder. They can also be
corporate loans, which are given to the business. Colombo and Grilli (2007) says
that as a first step, it is crucial for the borrower to prove their ownership of the
IP used as collateral. Even if the borrower claims to be the rightful owner of the
IP, no lender is comfortable making a loan based on collateral when it is unclear
who owns the rights to the IP being used as collateral. IP-loans are not available
to all startups, but they are a viable option for those who can. Generally,
however, obtaining a loan is something that a startup or small business should

23
consider once it has become more established because of the financial burden
(Halt et al., 2017).

2.5.2 Lines of Credit

A line of credit is a predetermined borrowing limit that can be used at any time
(Sufi, 2007). This gives the borrower the option to access funds at any time if
they do not exceed the limit, and interest is only paid on the borrowed amount.
Furthermore, the money can be repaid at any time. Startups can also use a line
of credit by having a credit card issued to the business. Sufi (2007) emphasizes
that every lender has different terms and conditions for the credit card, which
make it important for startups and small businesses to review them and consider
other options before using a credit card. When using a credit card, the business
can improve its credit rating, which can make it easier to use alternative debt
funding methods in the future. Furthermore, lines of credit have built-in
flexibility since borrowers can request an amount but don’t have to use it, which
doesn’t put the business under a financial obligation (Sufi, 2007).

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3. Research Method
The chapter will describe and motivate the method of choice for this assignment
where primarily secondary data will be used. Additionally, how the data was
collected, and the verification and validation process will be described.

3.1 Method of choice

The first thing to consider while conducting a research method is what kind of
knowledge the research aims to contribute (Bryman and Bell, 2005). The first
distinction one needs to understand is between basic and applied research.
Bryman and Bell (2005) describe basic research as a method where one aims to
understand and expand their knowledge and theory about a specific field, while
the objective of applied research is to provide a solution to a defined problem.
In this study, a basic research method will be applied because the objective is to
understand different funding methods in theory and for several organizations.
The preliminary knowledge regarding the subject is minimal, which makes it
essential to increase the intellectual body of knowledge. Furthermore,
exploratory research is conducted as a method to investigate the research
questions (Yin, 2009). The research questions are well-defined, but still too
broad to provide conclusive results regarding startup funding. Therefore, the
exploratory method is conducted to provide a better understanding of the
problem.

Additionally, the study will be carried out through a qualitative secondary

analysis method. This kind of study only uses data collected by someone else
and is used to maximize data utility, particularly with difficult-to-reach patient
populations (Tate and Happ, 2018). In this assignment, one would need to reach
out to high-ranking executives who have been involved with the startup from the
start to understand the startup’s funding history and their current situation.
Because of the difficulties in doing this, the researcher chose to only use
secondary data for all startups. Having an interview for only some startups would

25
have deteriorated any comparisons that one would have tried to make because of
the information gap.

3.2 Data collection, verification, and validation

A qualitative secondary analysis requires a careful consideration of the data,
where a high level of source criticism is necessary (Tate and Happ, 2018).
Firstly, the researcher did some simple Google searching to get an overview of
the historical funding rounds for the startups. However, the sources that show up
are not reliable in this case, which made the researcher create some simple
guidelines to verify investment rounds. The first step to finding and verifying
investment rounds was analyzing the startup’s website and looking at press
releases. Press releases are deemed to be of high reliability because they are what
the organization shows the world and usually mention investors, which they
would be hesitant to spread misinformation about. However, especially for
earlier investments, there is not always a press release for a founding round.

In these scenarios, the researcher first tried to visit an older version of the
startup’s website to find these press releases, which is why some press releases
can guide the reader to an old website. When the press releases were not
available on the startup's website, the researcher went to the Venture Capital's or
a similar company's website in order to find a press release about the investment
from them. These press releases are also deemed to have high readability.
Unfortunately, the investors sometimes only link to the startup as a company in
their "portfolio" without additional information or a press release. In these cases,
which were mostly necessary in early funding rounds, the researcher had to rely
on website articles.

The problem with website articles in these scenarios, when reporting on startups
and funding numbers, is that it is easy to communicate wrong numbers. Although
the overall information can be true, it is not always communicated with the
correct numbers. Usually there is no bias in the information or low credibility in

26
the sources. However, to make sure that the reported information is correct, the
researcher made sure that all articles referenced have been shared by the startup,
either through LinkedIn or Facebook. When the company shares the article, it
usually increases the probability that the information is correct. Quotes from or
interviews with a founder in the article that the startup shares also increase
credibility. Furthermore, when articles are used, the researcher has looked at
several other sources to validate that the reported numbers in the assignment are
correct.

Overall, several steps were taken to verify and validate the collected secondary
data to ensure that correct information was reported in this assignment.

3.3 Chosen startups

For this assignment, five startups have been chosen to be analyzed: three from
Sweden and two from Barcelona. The startups are Voi Technology, Trustly,
Heap Carsharing, TravelPerk, and Badi. These startups were chosen based on a
few requirements. The first requirement was that the startup would be relatively
successful. Although it would be interesting to also analyze what happens in
unsuccessful cases, the purpose of this study is to understand different practical
fundraising methods, which are best described in successful cases. Another
requirement is that the startup should be a software startup. A software startup
is historically way more susceptible to being scalable and becoming a unicorn,
which leads to the startup being more susceptible to fundraising. The third and
final requirement was that each location have at least one proven unicorn and
one startup that is still on the rise. The unicorn startup will examine how fast-
growing and scalable startups choose their fundraising strategies. Although the
startups still on the rise are still successful, it is also interesting to analyze how
non-proven unicorns are expanding.

Based on these requirements, two unicorns, although different, got chosen from
Sweden: Voi Technology and Trusty, while Heap Carsharing was chosen as a

27
rising startup. There are hundreds of other similar startups that could have been
chosen instead, but these felt appropriate for this investigation. In the same way
that TravelPerk was chosen as the unicorn startup from Barcelona, while Badi
was the startup on the rise, although still successful.

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4. Results from data collection
In this chapter, the five chosen startups will be presented. Firstly, a short
description of the startups will be given. Following that, the segments will
present all major, documented funding rounds for the startups. Statements and
reasons for why the rounds were necessary and what the capital will be used for
will also be presented.

4.1 Voi Technology

Voi Technology is a Swedish-based company that provides electric scooter
sharing services. In 2018, Voi was founded by several co-founders, including
Fredrik Hjelm and Douglas Stark, where they first started as colleagues at SSE
Business Lab before fully perusing the startup idea (SSE Business Lab, 2021).
After a lot of hard work and dedication, Voi Technology got a great start in their
history when, in the same year, 2018, they got their first scooter out on the streets
of Stockholm and even launched in Spain (Voi History, n.d.). This was the start
of their European expansion and their greater goal of becoming the European
leader in micromobility. Today, Voi is well on its way to achieving their goal:
they have launched in over 100 cities in Europe, developed the vehicles, and
received several awards for their business (Voi History, n.d.).

To achieve all this success, Voi Technology has needed a lot of investments from
various sources. A $2.9 million seed round was the first documented funding
type (Voi Company Profile - PitchBook, n.d.) (Nordic9a, 2018) (Voi
Technology - Crunchbase, n.d.). The round was finalized in September 2018,
which was only a few months after the startup was founded. VNV Global, a
Swedish VC firm that invests in and focuses on network effect businesses, led
this round, which also included two angel investors, Eric Finnås and Erik
Sagerborg (Nordic9b, 2018) (Voi Technology - bolagsverket, n.d.). The capital
raised in the seed round was used to launch the first scooters in Sweden’s capital,
Stockholm, where there were suddenly hundreds of scooters around the city.

29
Following the immediate success of its users in Stockholm, Voi Technology
went on to a second round of expansion in Sweden and throughout Europe. In
November 2018, VOI Technology announced a $50 million Series A investment
led by Balderton Capital, Europe's top early-stage digital investor, along with
LocalGlobe, Raine Ventures, and previous investor VNV Global to change how
people move around Europe's congested cities (Voi.corprate - Press release A,
2018). Additionally, a host of high-profile angel investors, for example Jeff
Wilkes (Amazon), Justin Mateen (co-founder of Tinder), and Sebastian
Knutsson (co-founder of King) participated in the round. The electric scooters
got rolled out in Madrid, Zaragoza, and Malaga in Spain to offer a more efficient,
cost-effective, and zero-emission first-and-last-mile alternative to cars and taxis.
When Voi Technology expanded internationally, it had to ensure that it met the
requirements of new city authorities and local regulations, which differed across
the continent (Voi.corprate - Press release A, 2018). The full cooperation and
support of the host city concerned were essential for Voi Technology to succeed
in these cities, which require resources and knowledge, according to CEO
Fredrik Hjelm.

The $50 million Series A investment was significant, but not enough for Voi, as
they had a step-up expansion raising $30 million for the Series A round
(Voi.corprate – Press releaseB, 2019) (Voi Technology - Crunchbase, n.d.). The
round was closed in March 2019 and included several previous investors,
alongside new investors Project A and Creandum and angel investors, to ramp
up expansion across Europe and invest in R&D. With the rise of competitors
across the continent, Voi needed to constantly develop their scooters and choose
market strategies to expand their brand. This also resulted in Voi taking the lead
and assisting in the establishment of an industry-wide code of conduct in
Stockholm and other cities (Voi.corprate - Press releaseB, 2019).

30
Voi Technology grew and expanded like a rocket, where they in November 2019
already had closed their Series B investment round for $85 million (Voi.corprate
– Press releaseC, 2019). This round was led by VNV Global, but also had
participation from several other earlier VC investors. Furthermore, like the
previous round, Voi had an additional step-up expansion raising $30 million for
the Series B round by July 2020 (Voi.corprate – Press releaseD, 2020). The press
release noted that the additional funds raised will be used to enable expansion
into new markets and to focus even further on efficiency-enhancing initiatives.
It is also worth noting that the funds raised in 2020 occurred during the
coronavirus pandemic, making the first half of the year difficult, but they were
still able to raise more funds for expansion (Voi.corprate - Press releaseD, 2020).
Although the lockdowns limited their profitability when they were in the
emerging stage, the company was able to raise funding because of its business
model and timing.

Voi Technology went on to raise $205 million in two more Series C rounds and
$115 million in a Series D round (Voi.corprate - Press releases, n.d.) (Voi
Technology - Crunchbase, n.d.). It is also worth noting that VNV Global is still
one of the leaders for the later round and that a new investment firm, the Rain
Group, has joined as a leading investor. The Rain Group specializes in many
sectors, including M&A and financial restructurings, where they invest in proven
and promising startups (The Rain Group, n.d). These investments have made it
so that Voi has raised more than $430 million since the startup launched in 2018.
Fredik Hjelm, the CEO, calls this an extraordinary development and says they
have plans for an IPO in 2023. (Leijon, 2022).

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4.2 Trustly
Trustly is a financial technology company that provides online payment services
(Trustly, n.d.). Its main office is in Stockholm, Sweden, where it was founded in
2008. With the use of Trustly's services, customers and businesses are enabled
to make secure and direct online payments from their bank accounts. Trustly´s
services are used by a global range of businesses, including banks, e-commerce
businesses, and gaming organizations, and are offered worldwide. The services
are designed to be convenient and secure, allowing users to make payments
without the need to enter sensitive financial information, such as credit card
numbers or login credentials. "With Trustly, there are no app downloads or fees-
just quick, easy payments and seamless refunds." is a quote from their website
where they want to emphasize the easy-to-use and convenient services (Trustly,
n.d.). Today, Trustly works with 6,300 banks across Europe and North America
and has deep-reaching knowledge of local regulations and practices where they
have a 525 million customer reach.

After launching in 2008, Trustly had a first investment round that was completed
in 2009 (Lambert, 2022). Although the specifics of this investment round are not
well documented, the investment resulted in the development and launch of a
second-generation technical platform (Deloitte - Powerful Connections, 2013).
After the business expanded geographically in 2010, its revenues increased by
more than 200%. The next documented investment round was in 2011 when
Alfvén & Didrikson, a Swedish VC firm, acquired 25% of Trustly Group AB
and became the single largest individual shareholder in the company (Alfvén &
Didrikson – Press ReleaseA, 2011). Alfvén & Didrikson is a VC that invests in
small and mid-sized privately owned European companies with the potential for
scalable growth, like Trustly. From this acquisition, Måns Alfvén, co-founder of
Alfvén & Didrikson, became the new chairman of Trustly Group. It is
documented that the round value was $3.2 million, but since it is not noted in the
press release or another source, this is an uncertainty (Nordic 9 – Trustly, 2011).

32
In 2014, Bridgepoint Development Capital agreed to invest approximately $30
million for a minority stake in Trustly to support the company's continued
growth (Bridgepoint - Press release, 2014). Bridgepoint appreciated Trustly's
proprietary and scalable PSP technology platform that could integrate any
payment method securely and effectively. Together with these additional funds
and its strategic partnerships with Groupon and PayPal, Trustly put resources
into understanding legal requirements and developing the platform (Groupon –
Trustly, 2014) (PayPal – Trustly, 2014). Legal requirements in the e-commerce
segment are high, and there was no room for error when presenting the
technology to different platforms.

The next significant investment round for Trustly occurred in 2018, when the
private equity fund Nordic Capital purchased a majority stake, approximately
70% of the existing shares in Trustly (Nordic Capital - Press release, 2018).
Nordic Capital stated in their press release that they see significant potential in
supporting management to accelerate Trustly’s growth agenda in current and
new geographies, as well as expand the product portfolio. This would also
include investing in large bank networks and technology platforms to drive
payment innovation and leverage the first mover advantages to become a leading
global account-to-account payment brand. It is also worth noting that Alfvén &
Didrikson, who remain co-owners, issued a statement in which they stated that
Bridgepoint Development Capital would sell its shares and that Nordic Capital,
Alfvén & Didrikson, Trustly founders, and management would be significant
shareholders (Alfvén & Didrikson - Press ReleaseB, 2018).

Nordic Capital delivered on their promise of expanding to new geographies

when Trustly in 2019 merged with Silicon Valley-based PayWithMyBank
(Trustly – Press ReleaseA, 2019). The goal of this merger was to enable global
sellers to accept online banking payments directly from European and US
consumers. Trustly's CEO referred to the merger as a "transformative merger"

33
to emphasize the importance of transatlantic coverage (Trustly - Press Release
A, 2019). Another event that Trustly credited to Nordic Capital was when a
world leading investment consortium made a minority private equity investment
in 2020 (Trustly – Press ReleaseB, 2020). Trustly stated that Nordic Capital
attracting a world-class consortium of investors is proof of Trustly’s business
model and success.

However, everything has not just been an upward trend for Trustly. Trustly
stated publicly, following the acquisitions and investments, that they intend to
issue an IPO in the near future (Trustly - Press Release C, 2021). Although
Trustly reported accelerated growth, the IPO has been postponed because of a
controversy that arose after the IPO statement. Overall, the controversy led to
Trustly paying a $13 million fine to Swedish authorities (Trustly – Press
ReleaseD, 2022). Even after the controversy, the board and the owners remain
convinced that an IPO would be beneficial for Trustly, and their ambition to list
the company remains.

4.3 Heap Carsharing

Heap carsharing is a peer-to-peer car sharing service that allows people to rent
out their cars when they are not in use (Heap Carsharing - About, n.d.). Heap
was funded in 2018 with the goal of increasing the use of cars that just stand still,
which is 96% of the time according to Heap, and are not used. The platform
enables owners to make money from their vehicles by sharing them with others.
The owner will be able to rent out their car through the app after installing the
heap hardware into their vehicle (Heap Carsharing - About, n.d.). The service is
completely digital, which makes it possible to rent the car without the owner and
renter ever meeting each other. To rent a car, one simply chooses the car that one
wants to book, finds it, and unlocks it through the app.

After being funded in 2018, it was not until March 2019 that Heap Carsharing
(under the name Ciao Ciao) launched their app and service in one of Sweden's

34
bigger cities, Norrköping (Larsson, 2019). The startup initially conducted a
market survey and developed the technology with their own money, which
confirmed their hypothesis that there was a lot of interest in the business model.
Using someone else's car is convenient and kind to both the wallet and the
environment. After the launch, the startup got their first outside investment from
Chalmers Ventures, a university VC that specializes in coaching, financing, and
business development, in August 2019 (Chalmers Ventures - Ciao Ciao, 2019).
The startup stated that they wanted to use these investments to launch the service
in Sweden’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, develop the technology, and
market the service. It was also stated that this was a relatively smaller investment
with the purpose of starting a partnership with Chalmers Ventures, where the
startup wanted to have a larger VC round in the future for expansion.

Following the first investment round, applications for Swedish grants, and
additional partnerships to expand into new cities, Heap Carsharing launched a
crowdfunding campaign (Findcrowdfunding - Heap Carsharing, 2021). Heap
raised approximately $500 000 in this crowdfunding project from private
investors and larger investment firms such as Chalmer Ventures and JNE Invest
(Johansson, 2021) (JNE Invest – Heap, 2021). This was their first significant
capital round, where an additional $200 000 debt loan from Almi
Företagspartner was made. Carl Törnström, Heap Carsharing CEO, said that
they were going to use this capital to expand as aggressively as possible
(Johansson, 2021). Because of the emerging competitors, they want to
aggressively market their idea, gain market shares, and become the new Airbnb
standard for vehicles. He also pointed out that they take a margin on the rental
turnover and don't have that many fixed costs, as they don't have their own
vehicles. This means that they can handle themselves but need investments to
expand even more.

After their first major capital investment round, they raised approximately $1
million in 2022 from investors at Martin Capital and insurance company Dina

35
Försäkringar (Åkesson, 2022) (Dina Försäkringar - Press Release, 2022). This
capital round, like the last one, will be used to speed up the expansion, according
to the CEO, Carl Törnström, but also to put more focus on other businesses as
customers instead of only private ones (Åkesson, 2022). He also stated that in
the past year, Heap has seen a clear trend break and a sharp increase in turnover.
The goal is to make Gothenburg a self-sufficient organization by the end of 2023
and to expand internationally to increase turnover. To reach this, there is a plan
to have a new capital round in early 2023. Törnström states that Heap has been
courted by several major players in, among other things, the automotive industry,
one of which is abroad, but he is reticent about which names are involved and
the sums (Åkesson, 2022).

4.4 TravelPerk
TravelPerk is a travel management platform that helps businesses plan and book
business travel as well as track and manage business travel expenses (TravelPerk
- about, n.d.). TravelPerk was founded in 2015 with a headquarters in Barcelona,
Spain, and serves businesses around the world. The platform has several
features, including the ability to book flights and hotels, manage expenses, set
spending limits, and create travel policies (TravelPerk - about, n.d.). It is
designed to help businesses streamline their travel planning, management
processes and control costs related to business travel.

To start the fundraising process, TravelPerk started with a $1.5 million seed led
by former Index Ventures partners Saul and Robin Klein, in 2016 (Lomas, 2016).
TravelPerk obtained the investment in two tranches: the majority of the share
was obtained at the beginning, followed by around half a million a few months
before the Series A round. CEO Avi Meir says that the seed round gave them
enough runway to get interesting results, but when a partner flew over to pitch
them an A round, it was a no-brainer for them to have an A round (Lomas, 2016).
That is, they were in the unique spot where the terms for the Series A round

36
basically came to them, and they therefore had a Series A round close to the seed
round.

TravelPerk closed the $7 million Series A round of financing led by Spark

Capital in June 2016, and part of the financing was that the Spark Capital co-
founder joined the TravelPerk board (Lomas, 2016). The Series A funding will
be used to grow the team, focus on product development, and make hires on the
commercial side to underpin its growth plans of expanding from Europe to the
US and Asia. Meir says that TravelPerk has ambitious plans of expanding
globally and needs solid cross-functional teams to execute those plans (Lomas,
2016). Meir also points out that the natural target for them is fast-growing
startups, Series B to C companies, that have different problems when traveling.
When communicating with these companies, new and different problems also
get discovered that they try to solve with their platform.

Following the Series A round, TravelPerk closed a $21 million Series B round
in 2018 with new leading investors while still having Spark Capital as
participants in the round (Lomas, 2018a). The startup could grow the business
quickly with the capital raised earlier, but Meir states that the Series B
investment would be used to scale the business "extremely fast" (Lomas, 2018a).
Meir also points out that the target users, still SMEs, are unhappy with the
current way of managing business travel, which gives them a rare opportunity to
disrupt and drive the market. Therefore, capital is required to continue the
growth and scale the market.

TravelPerk wanted to accelerate growth even further and raised $44 million in
Series C funding in October 2018 (TravelPerk - Press ReleaseA, 2018). Among
the new round's investors were Sweden's Kinnevik, as well as successful
technology investors Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford. Meir reiterates that the
funds will be used to expand and disrupt the $1.3 trillion travel market
(TravelPerk - Press Release A, 2018). To do this, TravelPerk opened its first

37
office in the UK and soon also built bases in Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris. With
the increased revenues and 700% growth year on year, Meir also wanted to grow
in the West and East. After the realization that the platform also works well for
even bigger companies, a chunk of the Series C funding would also go to
establish several new offices outside the European region (Lomas, 2018b). To
reach this, the initial Series C investment was not enough, which made them add
$60 million to the Series C round (Lomas, 2019a).

The coronavirus pandemic came in 2020 and halted business for TravelPerk, but
it did not stop them from emerging and becoming better (TravelPerk - Press
ReleaseB, 2021). In 2021, the startup that was funded in 2015 raised a $160
million Series D round in equity and debt funding. Additionally, TravelPerk
raised an additional $115 million in its Series D in 2022 (TravelPerk - Press
ReleaseC, 2022). Meir states that these outstanding rounds came after the
pandemic, which showed the world that TravelPerk business travel will recover
and thrive in the years ahead, although in different ways. During the lockdown,
TravelPerk was constantly innovating to meet the changing needs of travelers,
which led to the development of new solutions, such as TravelSafe, to meet
market demand (TravelPerk - Press ReleaseB, 2021). TravelPerk will therefore
use these investments to continue growing globally, develop and launch new
solutions, and use new technology that thinks about the carbon footprint and the
users.

Developing and scaling their own technology and brand is not all that the new
funding will be used for; the capital will also be used to acquire other businesses.
In 2021, TravelPerk acquired Click Travel, the biggest travel platform in the UK,
to strengthen its global leadership position (TravelPerk - Press releaseD, 2021).
Meir commented on the acquisition and said that Click Travel would help
TravelPerk build long term growth and significantly expand their on-the-ground
team in the UK. Another acquisition came in 2021 when TravelPerk acquired
Sustera to increase the investments in sustainability (TravelPerk - Press

38
ReleaseE, 2021). The UK travel sustainability consultancy firm, Susterra, had
unique software technology in terms of accuracy and quality that TravelPerk
needed to adopt in their sustainability approach. TravelPerk has made several
other acquisitions in the last two years in order to learn about new technology
and become the global leader in travel services (TravelPerk - Press Releases,
n.d.).

4.5 Badi
Badi is a Spanish startup that operates a platform for booking and finding
accommodation, primarily focused on the rental of apartments and shared flats
(Badi – about, n.d.). The company was founded in 2015 and is based in
Barcelona, where the founder is Carlos Pierre. Badi allows users to search for
and book short-term and long-term rentals in cities around the world. It also
offers a range of features and services for both hosts and guests, including the
ability to list and book accommodations, communicate with hosts and guests,
and make secure payments.

Badi had several early fundraising rounds, raising a total of approximately $4

million in less than two years (Emprendedores, 2018) (La Vanguardia - Badi,
2016). The first investment was made in early 2016 by the VC Mangrove Capital
Partners for €30 000. Pierre stated in an interview that he had problems raising
money from Spanish funds because of his unproven business model, but he was
lucky to meet the founder and CEO of Mangrove Capital, who lived in
Barcelona. This meeting gave him the capital and resources to expand his
previously limited network (Blystone, 2021).

Later that year, Badi was able to secure an additional €1 million from Mangrove
Capital Partners, as well as angel investors Marc Ingla and Didac Lee (La
Vanguardia - Badi, 2016). These investments helped Badi expand their team,
develop their platform, and market their brand, which was deemed extremely
important to gain market shares. The startup continued its growth and had

39
another financing round with Mangrove Capital Partners, where it raised €3
million in 2017 (Kishinchand, 2019). Again, the investments were used to
expand the team and scale the company. An interesting fact about Badi and their
CEO, Pierre, is that he often communicates in interviews and conferences on
how to think about early investors (Historias de startups, 2019). He emphasizes
the importance of understanding what investors are looking for and developing
a story about one's startup.

After the three initial rounds, Badi closed a $10 million Series A investment in
2018 (Lomas, 2018c). This round was led by Spark Capital, with the aim of
ramping up Badi’s presence across Europe. Alex Finkelstein from Spark Capital
joined the board of Badi. Already, the startup had ramped up a major presence
in Spain and a handful of cities in Italy, where the new funding would be used
to expand really fast all over Europe, says Pierre (Lomas, 2018c). London, Paris,
Berlin, Amsterdam, and Dublin are a few of the target cities that Pierre lists for
the expansion plan. They want to be in the market in these cities as soon as
possible because they believe that major cities will have accommodation issues.

The next major funding round came in 2019 when Badi closed a $30 million
Series B round (Lomas, 2019b). This round was led by U.S.-based VC firm
Goodwater Capital, which made its first investment in a Spanish startup.
Existing VC firms Spark Capital and Mangrove Capital also contributed, among
other investors. After the last investment, Badi stated that they were developing
an AI algorithm to help choose roommates (Lomas, 2019b). Badi hopes to
increase user comfort by utilizing machine learning technology to assist with the
flatmate matching process. As a result, the new financing round will be used to
improve the round while also consolidating services in other major cities. Badi
expanded outside the borders of Europe when the brand officially launched in
New York in 2020 (Sattiraju, 2020).

40
5. Analysis and discussion
In this chapter, the results chapter and the theory will be discussed and analyzed.
Furthermore, the research questions will be answered throughout the chapter,
where the reader will get an overview of how the startups in this study are
connected to each other. This will be done by dividing the funding process into
three stages and analyzing how the startups interact in these stages

5.1 Early-stage funding

According to Halt et al. (2017), the earliest stage when a startup tries to obtain
funding is in the pre-seed round. This could have been accomplished in a variety
of ways, including family relationships, personal investments, and grants. One
unfortunate thing about this study is that most startups do not really document
their methods and strategies in their very early stages. For example, Voi
technology founders expressed in an interview that they worked together before
fully pursuing their startup idea (SSE Business Lab, 2021). However, interesting
aspects such as how much time they put into the startup before leaving and their
financing methods at this stage are not documented. Most startups release or get
financing news when VCs or angel investors invest in them. Skala (2019) points
out that this early stage is important to obtain investors by putting time, money,
and dedication into the business, which one cannot really analyze from the
outside.

Heap Carsharing is a startup that was founded in 2018 but did not launch until
2019 (Larsson, 2019). This shows that there is a phase where a startup learns
about its business model, understands its market, and develops a minimum
viable product before launching and getting financial support. Receiving
information on strategies and financing methods at this stage from only
secondary sources is abnormal. The same goes for the Barcelona startups, for
example, Badi. Badi's CEO stated that he had difficulties raising early funding,
but was lucky enough to meet the CEO of a VC firm in Barcelona (Blystone,

41
2021). Information and details on how the specific startups handled the earlier
stages, before the big financing rounds, would have been informative not only
for the researcher but also for other entrepreneurs that want to learn from
successful startups. The Swedish and Spanish startups handled this stage in the
same way, which did not display any differences.

When we move on to the seed round and when startups start obtaining outside
investments, it is worth noting that not every startup names their rounds. For
example, Heap Carsharing got their first investment in 2019 from Chalmers
Ventures, but the investment had no round name (Chalmers Ventures - Ciao
Ciao, 2019). The statement included that the two parties have entered into a
partnership but said nothing about what round it is, which makes it harder for
readers to know how the parties define the round and forces some interpretations.
Other startups, like Trustly and Badi, had the same complications, especially in
earlier rounds.

If we assume that all earlier outside investments were in the seed round, which
matches Dunn and Chetham’s (1993) statement that a round depends on a
company’s stage and not the raised amount, one can see a clear similarity for the
Swedish startups. Voi Technology with VNV Global, Heap Carsharing with
Chalmers Ventures, and Trustly with Alfvén & Didrikson all got into
partnerships with Swedish VCs to gain capital. Furthermore, there were several
Swedish angel investors who also contributed at the beginning, which shows that
the Swedish startups went out around the region for fundraising. According to
Halt et al. (2017), potential investors in the early stages are VCs and angel
investors who are geographically close to or from that country, which these
startups agree with. In comparison, both Badi and TravelPerk got investments
from investors outside of Barcelona. TravelPerk got investments from the
successful angel investors Saul and Orbin Klein, who are not from Barcelona
(Lomas, 2016). Badi received funding from a VC firm with headquarters outside
of Spain (Blystone, 2021). In the Badi case, the investments were obtained

42
because the founder lived in Barcelona, but there is still a point to be made that
there were some additional possibilities for the Barcelona startups.

A recognition of great importance in the seed round, and for all future rounds at
that, is that the information in the releases to the public is not complete. Voi
Technology, for example, had a successful seed round, raising $2.9 million
(Nordic9a, 2018). However, in the statements, there is no information on how
much equity or debt was negotiated in the round. As a result, it is impossible to
calculate valuations or understand the details of the rounds. There are also cases
where the startups are more open to publishing how much equity they lost, but
then do not state any numbers. Alfvén & Didrikson’s public statement on them
acquiring 25% of Trustly does not show any numbers on how much the
investment was (Alfvén & Didrikson – Press ReleaseA, 2011). One gets the
same problem in this case: there are no specific details in the statement to
analyze, as it is more to show the world that something happened without
providing too many details. This is the same for the startups in Barcelona, where
the public can get one side of the equation but rarely all of it.

Furthermore, the public learns nothing about the specific corporations or similar
entities involved in the transactions. These corporations were of great
importance, according to Halt et al. (2017). It is understandable that the startups
did not provide specific details, and they presumably met all the requirements
correctly; however, without them, it is impractical to conduct any comparison
analyses behind the specific deals.

Another similarity among all the startups in this round is how they state that they
want to use the newly acquired capital. The statements were very similar in that
they wanted to grow the team, develop their product and software, and market
their brand to gain market shares. This was more or less the same for every
startup in this study, no matter location, which coincides with Halt et al. (2017)
on how seed funding should be used.

43
When the amount of capital raised in the round is documented, one can see a
difference between the startups. Voi Technology had by far the biggest seed
round, which can depend on several factors. It is important to realize that
everything can still be called a seed round, since it is the stage of the startups
that matters and not the capital raised (McGowan, 2022). Voi’s seed round is
presumably bigger because they both develop scooters and software. Having to
develop a product and software of super high quality that must interact can cost
a lot of money. So, even if, for example, TravelPerk is like Voi in the sense of
being a unicorn and scalable, Voi presumably needed higher initial investments
to get out on the streets and bring in turnover.

5.2 Mid-stage funding

Heap Carsharing and Badi are still in the mid-stage funding process, while Voi,
Trustly, and TravelPerk have already completed this process. In this study, the
mid-stage funding process will be viewed as the Series A and B funding stages
to get an understanding of this process. Halt et al. (2017) point out that this round
should be where the startup has a plan for developing a business model that will
generate long-term profit. That is, a great strategy combined with a good idea is
important. In the startups studied, we can see that every startup follows these
principles. Obviously, they are doing something right to be able to obtain these
investments, but one also observes that the investors in these rounds want to be
a part of the company. Måns Alfvén, co-founder of Alfvén & Didrikson, for
example, became the new chairman of Trustly Group following their investment
(Alfvén & Didrikson - Press ReleaseA, 2011). Furthermore, Alex Finkelstein
from Spark Capital joined the boards of both Badi and TravelPerk after investing
in them. This can be interpreted as investors wanting to be a part of the startups
in order to guide them through the next stages.

A similarity between the Barcelona startups is that the VC firm Spark Capital
invested in both startups. This is a coincidence but still an indication that even if
Spark Capital does not have its headquarters in Barcelona, they are an active

44
investor in the Barcelona area. This reiterates the statement that startups usually
get investments from investors who are active geographically in the location
(Halt et al., 2017). In comparison, the Swedish startups in this study typically
raised their Series A round outside of Sweden; for example, Voi received a $50
million Series A investment led by Balderton Capital, Europe's leading early-
stage digital investor (Voi.corprate - Press release A, 2018). Since the company
needed to raise so much money, it was necessary for them to go to VCs in larger
markets. It was the same as when Bridgepoint Development Capital invested
around $30 million in Trustly for a minority stake (Bridgepoint - Press release,
2014).

It is also worth noting that all these rounds have several investors and a leader.
For TravelPerk, we see that Spark Capital was one of the earliest investors and
led the Series A round (Lomas, 2016). In later rounds, they were not the leader
but were still a part of the rounds and invested in the company. In addition,
several other investors participate in the rounds in order to reach the round's
capital goal. This is also true for Voi Technology, where VNV Global led an
early round and has been a key investor in all subsequent rounds (Voi.corprate -
Press release A, 2018). In the Trustly case, one can also see how Bridgepoint
Development Capital later sold its shares to obtain profits (Alfvén & Didrikson
- Press ReleaseB, 2018). All of this coincides with the theory that a funding
round is usually tied to an anchor and has several other investors behind it (Halt
et al, 2017). This is similar for all the startups in both Barcelona and Sweden.

A difference that Heap Carsharing made in comparison to all other startups was
that they had a crowdfunding campaign. Heap Carsharing's crowdfunding
campaign raised nearly $500 000, which is a great start for a new business
(Findcrowdfunding - Heap Carsharing, 2021). Badi, who is the startup most
similar to Heap in this study, has not had a fundraising round since 2019. The
crowdfunding option could be very viable for them if they need capital and want
another fundraising round.

45
For TravelPerk, they had a Series A round only a few months after the seed round
closed (Lomas, 2016). Halt et al. (2017) expressed how fundraising rounds can
be exhausting for startups and that one usually doesn’t have several after each
other, like for Heap and Badi, but this was not the case for TravelPerk and Voi.
TravelPerk's CEO expressed how unusual it was to have that opportunity, which
shows that the theory can be interpreted as correct, but that there are always
unicorn exceptions.

Something the theory and startups agree on, no matter if it is a unicorn startup
or not, is how the Series A and B rounds are used. Every startup in this study
wants the capital to be able to aggressively expand its brand and increase
turnover. Putting more resources into R&D, technology, and strategic decisions
is usual. These rounds also include an increased focus on unit economics,
effectiveness, and profitability, with the overall goal of accelerating growth and
being ahead of competitors.

5.3 Late-stage funding

Far from all startups reach the later stages of a funding process, that is, the Series
C and D rounds and forward. In these rounds, the startups become internationally
known. Although the startups can begin their expansion to new countries with
mid-stage funding, it is in the later stages that they blossom, as seen in the cases
of Voi, Trustly, and TravelPerk. TravelPerk raised a Series C round of more than
$100 million, and the founder talked about really expanding internationally with
that capital (Lomas, 2019a). This also coincides with Halt et al. (2017), where it
is stated that a later round is used to expand the company and do what was done
earlier, only to a much greater extent. It is also worth noting that the startups that
are at this stage are becoming international, which makes the funding differences
between them minimal. The startups get help from market experts to make
fundraising decisions and expand their brand.

46
Halt et al. (2017) pointed out that not all startups reach the Series D stage and
are satisfied with a Series C round before issuing an IPO. No startup in this study
has issued an IPO yet, although it has been talked about. The exact reason for
this is hard to say, but as pointed out earlier, the startups get world-class
consolation for these decisions, so when a startup takes a different path at this
stage, it is about that specific startup and not some outside limitation.

To express some similarities in these rounds for the different startups, one
observes that it is when the takeovers start taking place. In the later stages,
Trustly, for example, acquired Silicon Valley-based PayWithMyBank to expand
geographically and enable global payments (Trustly - Press Release A, 2019).
TravelPerk also acquired Click Travel and Sustera to become more of a global
power (TravelPerk - Press ReleaseE, 2021). Eckbo (2014) described these
processes as requiring a lot of resources, such as capital, legal knowledge, and
labor. Because of this, it is only natural that startups cannot entertain these ideas
and decisions before reaching this status.

Another similarity that the researcher thought about was that it was in the later
stages that the startups started putting resources into sustainability. For example,
TravelPerk acquired Sustera to increase their sustainability approach within the
company, and Voi started investing in making their scooters more sustainable.
Although the word "sustainability" appears in almost every press release and is
something that startups want to talk about, it is not until the startups in this study
have reached a high status that they are willing to invest capital in it.

Private equity firms are also more likely to show up in the investment rounds at
this stage, like The Rain Group for Voi, Nordic Capital for Trustly, and
Greyhound Capital for TravelPerk. This reiterates the private equity theory of
when these firms invest in startups to develop them before listing them on a stock
exchange (Metrick and Yasuda, 2010). With this in mind, it can only be viewed

47
as a matter of time before all these startups issue an IPO and list themselves on
a stock exchange.

Another similarity between these startups was that later rounds could be
expanded. For example, both Voi and TravelPerk had two Series C rounds. Both
brands expressed that expanding a round was an option depending on the initial
performance, and as the results exceeded their most optimistic targets, they chose
to become more aggressive instead of staying on the same path. This
demonstrates that even successful startups make decisions in the later stages
about whether to be safe or aggressive, and in this study, they usually prefer the
latter

48
6. Conclusion
In conclusion, the pre-seed round is an important stage for startups to obtain
funding, but it is often not well documented due to the early nature of the
business. In this stage, startups often rely on funding from family and personal
investments to excel. As startups progress to the seed round and begin to attract
outside investments, it is common for Swedish startups to seek funding from
local venture capital firms and angel investors. In contrast, Barcelona startups
may have more opportunities to receive funding from investors outside the
region. It is also important to note that the information provided in funding
announcements is often incomplete, making it difficult to fully understand a
startup's funding strategy.

The mid-stage funding process, which includes the Series A and B rounds, is
an important stage for startups to secure funding for long-term profitability.
The startups in this study were able to obtain these investments due to their
strong business strategies and partnerships with investors who wanted to be
involved in the company's development. Both Swedish and Barcelona startups
can go more international and target larger markets when trying to receive
funding in this round. The funding rounds of the startups in this study also
follow the general theory that they are led by an anchor investor and supported
by several other investors to reach the capital goal. These rounds are used to
aggressively expand the brand and increase turnover through investments in
research and development, technology, and strategic decision-making, while
also focusing on unit economics and profitability.

When startups reach the later stages of the fundraising process, such as Series
C and D, they start becoming internationally known and begin to expand
globally. Acquisitions, sustainability investments, and the participation of
private equity firms are key characteristics of these rounds. It is also at this
stage that startups may decide to expand their funding rounds or pursue an IPO.

49
While not all startups reach this stage, those that do receive expert consultation
and make strategic decisions about their growth and development. The startups
studied in this research demonstrated a tendency towards aggression in their
approach to later funding rounds, reflecting their ambition to continue growing
and expanding their businesses.

50
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from-vostok-ventures-to-accelerate-growth-news2520840864/

Nordic9b. (2018). VOI Technology secures SEK 10M, wants to build a

consumer marketplace for electric scooters urban riding. Nordic 9. Retrieved

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scooter sharing startup, raises $50m to partner with cities across Europe Voi
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release/?id=313098CBAD42FB84

Voi.corprate – Press releaseB. (2019). Voi Technology. Europe’s top e-scooter

sharing startup, raises new $30m round to step up expansion. Voi corprate.
Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://corporate.voi.com/en/media/press-
releases/press-release/?id=313098CBAD42FB84

Voi.corprate – Press releaseC. (2019). Voi Technology. Voi Technology raises

$85m to put e-scooters at the heart of urban transportation in Europe. Voi
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release/?id=C9CFD1BE3DB92266

Voi.corprate – Press releaseD. (2020). E-scooter operator Voi achieves

profitability in June and secures $30m funding. Voi corprate. Retrieved
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release/?id=093E2CB8F8F80101

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Trustly:

Alfvén & Didrikson – Press ReleaseA. (2011). Alfvén & Didrikson invests in
Trustly. https://www.alfvendidrikson.com/post/alfvén-didrikson-invests-in-
trustly

Alfvén & Didrikson – Press ReleaseB. (2018). New Co-owner in Trustly.

https://www.alfvendidrikson.com/post/new-co-owner-in-trustly

Bridgepoint – Press release. (2014). Bridgepoint Development Capital Invests

in European online payments services provider Trustly. Bridgepoint.
https://www.bridgepoint.eu/press-releases/bridgepoint-development-capital-
invests-in-european-online-payments-services-provider-trustly/

Deloitte – Powerful Connections. (2013). Powerful connections Sweden

Technology Fast 50 2013. Deloitte.
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media-telecommunications/fast-50-rapport-2013.pdf

Groupon – Trustly. (2014). Groupon adds direct bank e-Payments from

Swedish Trustly as a payment method. (n.d.).
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Lambert, T. (2022). The Evolution of the Trustly Payment Method. Local

Histories. https://localhistories.org/the-evolution-of-the-trustly-payment-
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Nordic 9 – Trustly. (2011). Alfvén & Didrikson invest in Trustly Group.

(2011). Nordic 9. https://nordic9.com/news/alfven-didrikson-invest-in-trustly-
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Nordic Capital – Press release. (2018). Nordic Capital acquires Trustly, the
leading next-generation direct payment provider - Accelerating the path
towards becoming the leading global online banking payments provider.
Nordic Capital. https://www.nordiccapital.com/news-views/press-
releases/nordic-capital-acquires-trustly-the-leading-next-generation-direct-
payment-provider/

PayPal – Trustly. (2014). PayPal and Trustly join forces for online direct
transfers. Thepaypers.com. https://thepaypers.com/online-payments/paypal-
and-trustly-join-forces-for-online-direct-transfers/755659-3

Trustly – Press ReleaseA. (2019). Trustly merges with Silicon Valley-based

PayWithMyBank to deliver transatlantic online banking payments coverage.
Www.trustly.net. https://www.trustly.net/sv-SE/press/2019/06/trustly-merges-
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banking-payments-coverage

Trustly – Press ReleaseB. (2020). Världsledande investerarkonsortium gör

strategisk minoritetsinvestering i Trustly. Www.trustly.net.
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investerarkonsortium-gor-strategisk-minoritetsinvestering-i-trustly

Trustly – Press ReleaseC. (2021). Trustly rapporterar rekordkvartal med

accelererad tillväxt, börsnoteringen framskjuten. Www.trustly.net.
https://www.trustly.net/sv-
SE/press/2021/05/trustly_rapporterar_rekordkvartal_med_accelererad_tillvaext
_boersnoteringen_framskjuten

Trustly – Press ReleaseD. (2022). Trustly kommenterar Finansinspektionens

beslut. https://www.trustly.net/sv-
SE/press/2022/02/trustly_kommenterar_finansinspektionens_beslut

Trustly. (n.d.). “What Is Trustly? We Make Online Payments Easy |

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Heap Carsharing:

Chalmers Ventures - Ciao Ciao. 2019. Ciao Ciao Carsharing lanserar smart
bildelningstjänst i Göteborg. Chalmers Ventures.
http://chalmersventures.com/news/ciao-ciao-carsharing-lanserar-smart-
bildelningstjanst-goteborg/

Dina Försäkrnigar – Press Release. (2022). Dina Försäkringar investerar i

bildelningstjänsten Heap. Dina Försäkringar. https://www.dina.se/om-

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Findcrowdfunding – Heap Carsharing. (2021). Heap Carsharing crowdfunding

project at FundedByMe. Findcrowdfunding.
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Retrieved December 27, 2022, from https://heap.co/om-oss

JNE Invest - Heap. (2021). Heap Carsharing. JNE Invest.

https://jneinvest.com/project/heap/

Johansson, Å. (2021). Heap vill få dig att hyra ut bilen till grannen – tar in nytt
kapital för “aggressiv expansion.” Www.breakit.se.
https://www.breakit.se/artikel/31299/heap-vill-fa-dig-att-hyra-ut-bilen-till-
grannen-tar-in-nytt-kapital-for-aggressiv-expansion

Larsson, F. (2019). Ciao Ciao Carsharing utmanar traditionellt bilägande.

Newsroom.notified.com. https://newsroom.notified.com/norrkoping-science-
park-press/posts/news/ciao-ciao-carsharing-utmanar-traditionellt-bi

Åkesson, H. (2022). Heap vill att du hyr ut leasingbilen och cashar in – tar in
nya miljoner. Www.breakit.se. https://www.breakit.se/artikel/35057/heap-vill-
att-du-hyr-ut-leasingbilen-och-cashar-in-tar-in-nya-miljoner

TravelPerk:

Lomas, N. (2016). TravelPerk gets $7M Series A to take the pain out of
booking business travel. TechCrunch.
https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/09/travelperk-gets-7m-series-a-to-take-the-
pain-out-of-booking-business-travel/

Lomas, N. (2018a). TravelPerk grabs $21M to make booking business trips

suck less. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/04/11/travelperk-grabs-
21m-to-make-booking-business-trips-suck-less/

Lomas, N. (2018b). TravelPerk grabs $44M to take its pain-free SaaS for
business travel global. TechCrunch.
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/15/travelperk-grabs-44m-to-take-its-pain-free-
saas-for-business-travel-global/

Lomas, N. (2019a). On a growth tear, work trip SaaS TravelPerk adds $60M to
its Series C. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/18/on-a-growth-tear-
work-trip-saas-travelperk-adds-60m-to-its-series-c/

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TravelPerk - about. (n.d.). TravelPerk. https://www.travelperk.com/company/

TravelPerk - Press ReleaseA. (2018). TravelPerk announces $44m Series C

investment led by Kinnevik to transform $1.3 trillion business travel market.
https://www.travelperk.com/press-release/travelperk-announces-44m-series-c-
investment-led-by-kinnevik-to-transform-1-3-trillion-business-travel-market/

TravelPerk - Press ReleaseB. (2021). TravelPerk Raises $160 Million Series D

to Accelerate Global Growth. https://www.travelperk.com/press-
release/travelperk-raises-160-million-series-d-to-accelerate-global-growth/

TravelPerk - Press ReleaseC. (2022). TravelPerk Raises an Additional $115m

in Its Series D and Unlocks Unicorn Status to Lead the Future of Work.
https://www.travelperk.com/press-release/travelperk-raises-additional-115m-
in-series-d/

TravelPerk - Press releaseD. (2021). TravelPerk Acquires Click Travel, the

Biggest Travel Platform in the UK, to Strengthen Global Leadership Position.
https://www.travelperk.com/press-release/travelperk-acquires-click-travel/

TravelPerk - Press ReleaseE. (2021). TravelPerk Doubles down on Sustainable

Business Travel, Acquiring Startup Susterra.
https://www.travelperk.com/press-release/travelperk-doubles-down-on-
sustainable-business-travel-acquiring-startup-susterra/
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https://www.travelperk.com/press/

Badi:

Badi - about. (n.d.). Badi.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from

https://badi.com/about-badi

Blystone, D. (2021, May 27). Interview with Carlos Pierre of Badi. Barcelona
Navigator. https://barcelonanavigator.com/carlos-pierre-interview/

Emprendedores, R. (2018). Badi: el “marketplace” de pisos compartidos que

revoluciona el “propTech.”Emprendedores.
https://www.emprendedores.es/ideas-de-negocio/mejores-startups-empresas-
exito-emprendedores-badi/

Historis de startups. (2019). Cómo funciona Badi con Carlos Pierre - CEO y
fundador. Podcast de Itnig: Historias de startups.
https://anchor.fm/itnig/episodes/Cmo-funciona-Badi-con-Carlos-Pierre---CEO-
y-fundador-e96aqs

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-26/ai-powered-room-
rental-app-badi-launches-in-new-york

Kishinchand, I. (2019, January 10). Badi raises $30M in Series B funding -

Investmens. Startups Real. https://startupsreal.com/badi-raises-30m-in-series-b-
funding-to-lead-the-way-in-reshaping-the-rental-market/

La Vanguardia - Badi. (2016, June 23). La Vanguardia.

https://www.lavanguardia.com/edicion-
impresa/20160624/402721110441/ronda-de-inversion-de-1-millon-con-
mangrove-ingla-y-lee.html

Lomas, N. (2018c). Badi bags $10M to build out its room rentals platform in
Europe. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/02/05/badi-bags-10m-to-
build-out-its-room-rentals-platform-in-europe/

Lomas, N. (2019b). Badi gets $30M for AI-aided room rentals. TechCrunch.
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/10/badi-gets-30m-for-ai-aided-room-rentals/

Sattiraju, N. (2020, February 26). AI-Powered Room Rental App Badi

Launches in New York. Bloomberg.com.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-26/ai-powered-room-
rental-app-badi-launches-in-new-york

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