Adieu Techcrunch Europe – here’s what happened

When I started my career in tech PR back in 2008, Techcrunch Europe was the place to be for founders and investors. All too well, I remember the excitement when my largest client, 123people got acquired and TechCrunch broke the news exclusively.

Das war einmal. TechCrunch now no longer has an editorial staff in Europe.

Rumours and talk all around, for a week and half now were today finally and officially confirmed by Mike Butcher, the tech blog’s editor-at-large, on a LinkedIn post titled 18 years with Techcrunch.

“TechCrunch and I have parted ways”

“An announcement: After 18 years, TechCrunch and I have parted ways.

The backstory: Recently, Regent LP, a US private equity firm, acquired TechCrunch and its staff in the US, from Yahoo. During this process, my colleagues in Europe and I were, unexpectedly, rendered redundant. I should emphasise that I am not a spokesperson for Yahoo or Regent in this matter. However, the upshot is that, as of last month, I am no longer writing for TechCrunch.

This ends an 18-year run, starting in 2007.” Thus, Mike Butcher wrote.

Forced to leave

Last week, Romain Dillet, Techcrunch’ former French senior reporter, mentioned on his LinkedIn he was forced to leave. However, there was no direct mention of the other team members and Regent’s plans with the tech media title, fuelling further speculation mainly, and surprisingly, from the PR world.

Dillet wrote: “Some personal news: I’m leaving TechCrunch after an incredibly long run covering tech and startups, reporting on the French tech ecosystem and beyond.

This is a bittersweet moment for me, as I didn’t leave TechCrunch on my own terms. Regent LP, a private equity firm, acquired TechCrunch and laid off most of the international team. They thought international startup coverage wasn’t essential. I strongly disagree with that decision. But I genuinely want this team to succeed because it remains an incredibly talented group of people.”

Pretty ffffd up

My comment on his post, is one I stand by: “So sorry for you and all involved! As a person who has been in tech PR and media for over a decade and a half, I must say this is actually pretty ffffd (fucked) up. Not only for the people like you who lose their job after many many years, but also for the European startup community as a whole and tech journalism in particular.”

“We all know private equity can be predatory and often lacks a moral sense of obligation to society, but this right here is the peak reason why we should all hate PE. Even more reason, why Europe needs to fight for its own things. Media in particular. Thank you for your service to the community and I wish you well.”

Butcher says, among other things, that he will remain active in the scene, visiting tech events this summer. He will be active as a consultant (only while taking a break from journalism), when he is not a speaker on panels. He is also looking to reignite his non-profit Techfugees as a ‘Crunchbase for humanitarianism’.

Butcher: “But before I indulge in a little nostalgia, I want to emphasise that this does not mean my departure from tech journalism. I will be taking my many thousands of contacts and social media followers — spread across Europe and the Middle East — with me, into my next adventures. And BTW, PR people: just put me ‘on hold’ for now, ok?”

Other members of the TechCrunch Europe

The other members of the TechCrunch Europe team have also shared less in-depth posts about their departure earlier on.

Ingrid Lunden, who was the Managing Editor International: “Hi everyone. Thank you to everyone who has been in touch with me in the last several days. I wanted to share some **personal news.** After 13+ years, Wednesday, 30 April, was my last day with TechCrunch. I’m looking for a new job, ideally staying in tech and most ideally as a journalist. (And no, LinkedIn, I don’t want to rewrite this with AI! haha)”

Natasha Lomas has since joined as a Tech Editor at Euractiv. She already announced she was leaving the publication a month ago.

Steve O’Hear has passed away a few months ago, may he rest in peace.

Paul Sawers: “That’s a wrap, folks. I’ve left TechCrunch after a pretty great three years — this isn’t how I hoped it would all end, but nothing lasts forever.” He will continue to build his – recommended – Substack newsletter Forkable.

It’s no secret TechCrunch has always been a huge inspiration for us to build Silicon Canals. Whenever someone calls us the TechCrunch for Europe, I blush. Now that they are gone, we have big shoes to fill.

Not only us, but also other startup tech media publications. I can’t mention them all, certainly not the ones in local languages, but let me focus on the ones I read and enjoy (and highly recommend for PR people too).

Tech.eu

I’ll mention this one first, because Robin Wauters was our other gigantic source of inspiration when we started our coverage, back then only for the Netherlands. Since his more or less forced departure (and Dan Taylor’s) after the sale to Webrazzi I can’t say they have improved much, if any, but they remain a steady force.

EU-Startups

Thomas Ohr is a kindred spirit, albeit with a less journalistic approach perhaps but with true and passionate love for all things startup. His EU-Startups Summit has moved to Malta unfortunately, yet the fact remains that I met my new life partner around his Barcelona conference.

Tech Funding News

This might be the fastest riser on the tech media front. Akansha Dimri may seemingly came out of nowhere to build TFN, but before her stint at UKTech News she was the editor in chief of Silicon Canals (then with her maiden name Srivastava). If Silicon Canals and TFN look similar in tone of voice and reporting, that may be entirely her fault, haha! Regardless, she is high up in our hall of fame, for both.

The Recursive

Many titles have come and go, especially in CEE. The Recursive, led by Irina Obushtarova, has brought not only quality but also a sense of urgency to their reporting. Make sure you talk to the right Irina, there’s more than one.

Trending Topics

Bastian and Jakob are possibly equally kindred spirits, although they have started out in German. Where we switched entirely to English, they run their media title in English and their native-tongue.

Sifted

Let me be honest, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Sifted. Is it a tech publication, or a finance-newspaper–turned online news website? Nevertheless, they have clearly paved the way and are now in fact the largest tech media publications for startups in Europe. That in itself should not be diminished!

The Next Web

Another source of inspiration, but after Boris and Patrick left (nobody uses their last names) it has certainly gone downhill. They first made a U-turn back to European startup news (as per their origin), but with the departure of our good friend and ally Andrii Degeler it seems they currently have only two freelance reporters on duty. How long FT is going to keep them alive, is a question that bugs me.

Silicon Canals

For Silicon Canals, founded and fully owned by yours truly, the future may be grim, too. Even before this news hit, we had decided that the usual business models for tech media (advertising, content marketing, job ads, events) are no longer a viable, long-term predictable source of income.

Via the pop-up on the website, you can get on the list for our soon-to-be-launched members-only plan (we like to call you friends). Fuelled by our in-house built-AI news editor (we nicknamed her Bella) and our wonderful team of four seasoned tech journalists.

Support tech news

There have already been calls to Support Tech News in Europe. Great! We love and appreciate all the support we can get, but right now, we need money.

TechCrunch has paved the way, now it is time for Europe to step up and support independent tech journalism. Now we require it more than ever, as tech is the sector to create a prosperous and free democracy.

Adieu Techcrunch Europe. Auf Wiedersehen. Goodbye.