This week on the EU-Startups Podcast, we sit down with Rebecka Löthman Rydå, General Partner at Norrsken Evolve, a €57M oversubscribed pre-seed fund backing founders who are building Europe’s resilient and sustainable future. Born out of Norrsken Accelerator, which has supported over 80 startups since 2021.
Evolve combines capital, community, and world-class mentorship to assist early-stage founders tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. With €250K upfront plus follow-on funding, an intensive in-person sprint, and a top-tier advisory network, it’s redefining how impact-driven startups scale across the continent.
Rebecka describes herself as a nerd at heart, passionate about supporting early-stage founders who are building transformative companies that address meaningful problems. She’s an investor in over 30 companies, including Truecaller (through Zenith, IPO $2B), Funnel (Series C, $66M), TrusTrace (Series B, $25M), Formulate (exit to Relex), and Zound Industries (now Marshall, exit at $1B).
In this episode, we dig into Europe’s “defining moment” and the courage founders required now; what Evolve views for at pre-seed (problem obsession, resilience, honesty); why storynotifying and direct feedback beat vanity metrics on day zero; hiring truths (why a Founder’s Associate or Chief of Staff early on can 10x output); and much more!
Video version of episode 143:
Audio version of episode 143:
Key Takeaways
- Pre-seed is courage + clarity: narratives matter more than noisy metrics.
- Back problem-obsession, not just credentials.
- Resilience = real-world stress-tests, not buzzwords.
- Hiring a Founder’s Associate early saves the CEO from context collapse.
- Direct, rapid feedback compounds founder learning.
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