Europe prides itself on a 'work-to-live' ethos, a stark contrast to the perceived hustle culture elsewhere.
Long annual holidays, away from your desk lunch breaks, and down tools at 6 pm — and god forbid you send an email after hours in France.
But in the fast-paced world of tech startups, the idea flies out the window.
A survey by early-stage VC firm Antler of 63 startup founders reveals that a third of founders surveyed expect to take less than two days off during the holidays.
Whilst many founders (38 per cent) are planning to take a week off during the holidays, a third (32 per cent) expect to take only two days or less to ensure they can finalise funding rounds or continue growing their companies.
One in ten are planning to take no time off at all and work through the festive season.
And why are they doing this? Despite Christmas having a reputation for being a quiet time for fundraising, many founders will continue negotiating rounds over the holiday season.
According to Jeroen van Velzen, Dutch serial entrepreneur building in stealth:
“Signed a term sheet on Christmas eve. If you raise it's actually the perfect time. People are much more in closing mode at the end of the year.”
Alan Poensgen, Partner at Antler, admits that being a founder is hard work, and everyone needs to take a break during the festive season to decompress and reconnect with their loved ones.
“However, whilst many VCs will also be taking a break, deals are still being made.
Our founders show that Term Sheets will be signed as late as Christmas Eve. So whilst it doesn’t suit everyone, some will be securing multi-million Christmas presents this year.”
Dean Hastie, co-founder of German fintech, Tapline revealed:
“December 2022: After weeks of intense negotiations and legal wrangling with multiple stakeholders, we closed and signed a €30M debt facility literally on Christmas Eve (14:19PM CET to be exact). An unforgettable—and stressful—period.”
It's not a unique experience. Cristiano Coretti, co-founder of Norwegian proptech startup, Laioutm, calls this time of year the lucky charm period, admitting, "our first fundraise was closed in the week before Christmas and signed after NYE.”
For Max Teichert, co-founder of British gaming startup Track Titan, it has been a consistent trend:“First signature for one of our rounds on 23 Dec, last on the 30th, so full closing over this period in 2022.”
But it's not for everyone. Mads Emil Dalsgaard, co-founder of Danish climate tech startup, Klimate shared his experience of closing their first funding round over the Christmas holidays:
“I was sitting in a kids room at my mother-in-law's house in Estonia. Would NOT recommend.”
According to Nish Agrawal, co-founder of German AI food waste startup, SkoneLabs:
“We are experiencing that VCs and Angels are trying to rush everything before Christmas Eve. The Due Dilligence is much faster, calls are scheduled back to back.”
Sounds like a definite improvement in German efficiency.
Honestly, I’m of two minds. I’m not religious, and my family lives on the other side of the world, so the festive season is genuinely pretty quiet for my household, especially as most of our friends visit their families throughout Europe. Christmas is also not a holiday for our Turkish parent company Webrazzi — and a lot of other parts of the world.
A lot of us without kids would rather choose to holiday at times less congested with merrymakers and well, hoards of kids on school holidays. But I want founders to be able to take a break.
Us journos and those in startup land are already guilty of keeping one eye on our phone during social events. Doing it in a room full of relatives is the ultimate f-you to their festive season.
And, of course, what about Europe’s startup migrant founders whose connectivity is marred by long flights to the other side of the world to be with their families in other time zones?
Burnout is a very real stress for those in startups as VCs are recognising. This year we saw Cherry Ventures introduce mandatory coaching for founders, connecting them with a supportive ecosystem of professionals. We also saw Balderton become the first VC firm to introduce parental support for founders.
While those of us in tech may be less wedded to the festive season, what about our families?
Besides, women founders and those working at VCs already carry a heavy load as a report in October by WVC:E showcased. They’re already taking calls from the maternity ward, do they now have to disrupt their kids' gift unwrapping to close a deal?
And while calls from VC may be a very welcome distraction from your racist Uncle and your niece's thoughtfully gifted drum kit, most of our parents would love for us to not only be there but be present.
The pressure to close deals over the holidays reveals a tension at the heart of the European tech scene: the desire for work-life balance clashing with the relentless demands of growth.
While some founders may seize the opportunity of a less congested business landscape during the holidays, the industry must be mindful of the potential for burnout and the unequal burden placed on certain groups.
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