Dear hustlers, founders, operators and visionaries,

Elon Musk’s Tesla pay package of 56 billion USD (yep, billion) is up for a shareholder vote soon, together with the proposal to move the company’s incorporation to Texas. Both moves go back to a clash the billionaire had with a Delaware judge about his compensation being “excessive”. You can think of Elon Musk what you want, but he certainly makes sure things don’t get boring for us normies…

Your talk track for this week’s cocktail party

Former OpenAI board member breaks her silence about Sam Altman’s firing

Last November, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was fired on a Friday and reinstalled on the following Tuesday [here’s the timeline again]. So far the public only heard Sam’s side of the story about why this had happened. Last week, former board member Helen Toner broke her silence and filled in blank spaces:

We will probably never know what has truly happened, it is important that more light is shed on the darkness - after all, this is one of the most powerful AI companies in the world at the moment.

Google got leaked and wants you to eat stones

Google's experimental AI search feature, AI Overview, is facing backlash for delivering inaccurate responses, some seemingly derived from Reddit or satirical sources like The Onion:

This controversy emerged alongside a leak of Google's internal search algorithm documents, revealing a bias toward major brands over smaller sites (read startups), as first highlighted by SEO experts Rand Fishkin and Mike King.

Both stories show a dilemma Google faces: ensuring fair competition for all websites, or prioritizing authoritative sources to avoid spreading harmful information. Balancing these priorities is crucial to maintaining web diversity and reliability.

Go out and vote!

Europeans will elect Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on June 6-9, who will serve for the next five years and influence policies that impact startups. Typically, policy and politics are low on a founder's priority list, but the AI Act and similar policies have led founders and lobbyists to present their key demands for the EU:

• Create an EU commissioner for startups to streamline regulations

• Implementation of existing tech policies over further regulation

• European Delaware Inc. - introduce an EU company status for uniform business rules

• Harmonize taxes and create a pan-European startup visa

• Support EU integration and oppose nationalist policies and populism

A world of memes

Food for thought

Remember when money was cheap? Remember Gorillas?

"HELL OF A RIDE – The Unique Story of Gorillas" chronicles the rapid rise and fall of German grocery delivery startup Gorillas and its founder, Kagan Sümer. Fuelled by readily available venture capital in an era of cheap money, Gorillas expanded swiftly (15,000 employees in 9 countries within 2 years 🤯) but faced operational and financial challenges. Employee dissatisfaction and unsustainable growth ultimately led to its acquisition by its Turskish competitor Getir in December 2022.

The film highlights crucial lessons on the need for sustainable business practices in today's evolving VC environment.

What is AI really for?

Mark your calendar

Where the music plays this week in Europe’s startup-event-universe:

Austria

ViennaUp in Vienna, 3-6 June [Program]

Germany

TOA in Berlin, 4-5 June [Program]
Ecosummit in Berlin, 4-5 June [Program]
SuperVenture in Berlin, 4-6 June [Program]

Netherlands

Money 20/20 in Amsterdam, 4-6 June [Program]

Switzerland

SEF.Founder Conference at SEF in Interlaken, 6-7 June [Program]
Swisspreneur Growth Syndicate Demo Day in Zurich, 4 June [Apply]

UK

NOAH in London, 3-4 June [Program]
SaaStr in London, 4-5 June [Program]

Did we miss an important event? Let us know by replying to this email.

Smart hack

Sifted editor Amy Lewin shares her top tips for getting through event season:

Join the entrepreneurial journey

Are you ready to take your first steps into the startup ecosystem or seeking an exciting new opportunity? Here is a curated list of startup job openings across Europe for you to explore:

Internships

Founder Associate Intern [📍Zurich], Food, Cultivated Biosciences [Apply]
Finance Apprentice [📍London], eCommerce, BeautyPie [Apply]
Internship CEO Office [📍Munich], FinTech, Scalable Capital [Apply]

Customer Success

Junior Customer Success Manager for German Market [📍Hybrid, Barcelona], HR, factorial [Apply]
Customer Success Manager [📍Germany Remote], HR, Beekeeper [Apply]

HR

People Ops Lead [📍Remote, Paris], AI, PhotoBoom [Apply]
Talent Acquisition Partner [📍Stockholm], Marketing, Funnel [Apply]

Marketing

Social Media Manager [📍Hybrid, London], Media, FlightGroup [Apply]
Product Marketing Manager [📍London], Security, Coro [Apply]

Talk to you next week! In the meantime, we see you on LinkedIn, X and Insta!

🫶 Melanie & Christian

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