From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm's founder network

From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm’s founder network Theresa Loconsolo , Dominic-Madori Davis Aug 26, 2026 Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Vibe-coding darling Lovable just raised $400 million at a $13.3 billion valuation , roughly doubling its worth in eight months. But Lovable isn’t the only Stockholm startup putting up huge numbers lately — legal AI company Legora and health tech startup Neko Health are right there with it. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis is joined by Sophia Bendz , a partner at Cherry Ventures and longtime fixture of Europe’s startup scene, to unpack what’s driving startup growth in the Nordic ecosystem, from Sweden’s social safety net to the wave of U.S. capital flowing in. Listen to the full episode to hear more about: How the “Spotify Mafia” set the template for founders funneling their time, capital, and hard-won lessons back into Stockholm’s ecosystem, and how the same cycle may be starting again with the “Lovable Mafia” Why Sweden’s social safety net might be fueling founders’ willingness to take bigger swings Why Bendz is seeing American investors flying into Stockholm and handing out term sheets with little to no diligence, and the culture clash that’s creating with local funds How Europe’s sovereignty conversation is shaping how founders and investors think about building, even as most of them still plan to IPO in New York Subscribe to Equity on YouTube , Apple Podcasts , Overcast , Spotify , and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod. Theresa Loconsolo Audio Producer Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University. You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected] . View Bio Dominic-Madori Davis Senior Reporter, Venture Dominic-Madori Davis is a senior venture capital and startup reporter at TechCrunch. She is based in New York City. You can contact or verify outreach from Dominic by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at +1 646 831-7565 on Signal. View Bio October 13 – 15 San Francisco Don’t miss out . The startup community will gather to answer a pivotal question: How do you build sustainably in the AI era? REGISTER NOW Most Popular Two years after launch, Walmart’s Flipkart is closing in on India’s quick-commerce leaders Jagmeet Singh Inherent, founded by DeepMind alumni, says its AI ‘teammate’ just outperformed Anthropic and OpenAI at replicating research Anna Heim Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive Connie Loizos How AI accounting startup Rillet raised $100M and became a unicorn in 48 hours Dominic-Madori Davis Nvidia just showed that the harness, not the AI model, is now the real hero Julie Bort Tesla’s solar roof is dead — here’s what went wrong Tim De Chant Oura faces lawsuit accusing it of misleading consumers about sleep-tracking accuracy Aisha Malik Latest Equity Episodes See More Venture From the Spotify Mafia to the Lovable Mafia: inside Stockholm’s founder network Theresa Loconsolo Dominic-Madori Davis 52 seconds ago Venture The DOJ is investigating a16z. What does this mean for venture capital? Theresa Loconsolo Anthony Ha Kirsten Korosec Sean O'Kane Aug 21, 2026 AI has a GPU pricing problem. Silicon Data wants to fix it. Theresa Loconsolo Rebecca Bellan Aug 19, 2026 AI Meta’s ‘open’ AI, and a $250M deal gone very wrong Theresa Loconsolo Kirsten Korosec Anthony Ha Rebecca Bellan Aug 14, 2026