Europe’s fintech scene shows that sharp execution and customer focus can still win, even in tough markets. The newest unicorns didn’t chase hype; they solved real problems in overlooked areas, built trust, and formed smart partnerships.
Here’s how they did it — and what other founders can learn.
DataSnipper
Born inside the Excel spreadsheet, DataSnipper turned one of the most mundane parts of finance — audit documentation — into a frictionless experience. Their plug-in lets auditors extract and cross-check data from invoices, ledgers, and contracts in seconds, saving hours of manual effort. The genius wasn’t just in the product, but in how seamlessly it fit into existing workflows. By 2024, hundreds of thousands of auditors were using it globally, largely through word of mouth. They didn’t disrupt the audit process — they made it 10x easier, and that focus on usability drove explosive organic growth.
Established: 2017
Unicorn status achieved: 2024
What they did right: They built a product that solved a highly specific pain point inside a tool auditors already use daily — and let the users do the scaling.
Pennylane
Rather than compete with accountants, Pennylane turned them into power users. This Paris startup worked directly with accounting firms to digitise the finance operations of SMEs — from payments to invoicing and reconciliation — all in one place. With over 2,000 firms onboard, they accessed a distribution channel few others tapped into. It’s a classic example of building deep partnerships instead of broad marketing. By solving real daily problems and embedding into trusted advisor networks, Pennylane quietly scaled to unicorn status by early 2024.
Established: 2020
Unicorn status achieved: 2024
What they did right: They turned accountants into ambassadors, using existing relationships to scale fast and deepen their product stickiness.
Sygnum
When others raced to launch crypto exchanges, Sygnum chose a slower, smarter path — becoming a fully regulated digital asset bank. With licenses in Switzerland and Singapore, it catered to institutional investors who cared as much about compliance as innovation. As the crypto industry matured, that early bet on trust and infrastructure paid off. By 2025, with 2,000+ clients and booming tokenisation services, Sygnum crossed the billion-dollar mark. Their unicorn moment came not from hype, but from credibility, timing, and execution in an industry finally growing up.
Established: 2017
Unicorn status achieved: 2025
What they did right: They focused on building trust and compliance infrastructure before it was cool — and reaped the rewards as crypto moved into the mainstream.
PayFit
Payroll might not turn heads, but PayFit transformed it into a seamless, efficient, and human experience.They built an easy-to-use platform that let small businesses across Europe manage payroll, benefits, and compliance without drowning in paperwork. By focusing on a massive, underserved segment and offering true product simplicity, they became indispensable to HR teams. PayFit’s rise shows what’s possible when you address a boring pain point with elegance. By 2022, they were processing salaries for 150,000+ employees and had grown recurring revenue by nearly 70% in a year.
Established: 2015
Unicorn status achieved: 2022
What they did right: They nailed the user experience for a process every business needs but few enjoy — and scaled by keeping it intuitive and compliant across markets.
Spendesk
Every growing company faces the same question: how do we control spending without killing flexibility? Spendesk answered that with a beautifully bundled platform for employee expenses, invoice management, and budget tracking. Finance teams didn’t have to juggle six tools anymore. Spendesk offered one intuitive dashboard, giving CFOs visibility while empowering employees to spend responsibly. That clarity and completeness helped it become a core finance layer for scaling businesses, pushing it past unicorn status in 2022 — and keeping it sticky long after the funding round headlines faded.
Established: 2016
Unicorn status achieved: 2022
What they did right: They built a single platform that aligned the needs of finance teams and employees — then focused relentlessly on execution and usability.
Years to Unicorn: European Fintechs
This chart shows how many years it took European fintech startups to reach unicorn status after being founded — on average, it took about 6 years.
What Fintech Founders Can Take Away
What sets Europe’s fintech unicorns apart isn’t flashy tech or hype — it’s a relentless focus on solving real problems, earning user trust, and scaling through smart, strategic moves.
- Meet users where they already are. Whether it’s DataSnipper integrating with Excel or Pennylane working through accountants, success often means enhancing existing tools — not replacing them.
- Solve real operational pain. Unicorns like PayFit and Spendesk won not by reinventing finance, but by making complex tasks radically easier for non-experts.
- Build for trust. In highly regulated sectors, long-term wins go to those who invest early in compliance, like Sygnum did with its banking licenses.
- Leverage smart distribution. Partner networks can outperform direct marketing. Pennylane’s channel via accountants is a textbook example of this.
- Focus beats flash. None of these companies grew by chasing trends. They picked a pain point, executed relentlessly, and scaled with discipline.
For fintech leaders aiming to cross that billion-dollar line, the lesson is clear: success doesn’t come from disruption alone — it comes from knowing your user, building deep trust, and solving one hard problem better than anyone else.
