Billions in funding, hundreds of millions of social media followers and grueling work weeks. Forbes crunched the numbers on our ninth annual Under 30 Europe list. Check out what it takes to be among the top, young 300 leaders across Europe.
By Kristin Stoller, Forbes Staff
In the 2024 European landscape, one thing is clear: The influence and power of young people has never been more prevalent. Take, for example, the soon-to-be enacted changes in voting laws. In this year’s European elections, Belgium, Germany, Malta and Austria will allow 16-year-olds to vote, and Greece will allow 17-year-olds––all showing the growing political and social importance of Europe’s youth.
Europe’s Under 30 community holds tremendous economic sway too. The 300 founders and entrepreneurs featured on our 2024 Forbes Under 30 Europe list have raised more than $1 billion for companies that are reinventing the tired trucking industry, combating climate change and redefining elderly care, among other initiatives.
To compile our ninth annual list, Forbes writers and editors combed through thousands of online submissions, as well as tapped industry sources and list alumni for recommendations. Candidates were evaluated by Forbes staff and a panel of independent, expert judges (including billionaire and denim powerhouse Diesel owner Renzo Rosso, actor Simona Tabasco and Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah) on a variety of factors, including funding, revenue, social impact, scale, inventiveness and potential. All final listers must be 29 or younger as of April 9, 2024. For more on how we make the list, check out our methodology here.
There are many bright spots and encouraging trends in this year’s list, however, much like last year, the share of capital raised by women in Europe remains low. Last year, all-women founding teams raised just 3% of all dollars invested in 2023, according to a recent study from venture capital firm Atomico.
Germany’s Fabiola Munguia, 29, is fighting against this trend. An immigrant to Germany from El Salvador, Munguia cofounded Secfix, a Berlin-based startup that helps small businesses comply with cybersecurity laws, in September 2021. She’s raised $4.2 million from Commerzbank’s VC arm and Octopus Ventures, and appears on our Technology list.
Portugal’s Mara Schmiedt, 29, has raised $18 million for her cryptocurrency startup Alluvial, which works with clients like Coinbase and other crypto platforms to stake ethereum for their users. Does the volatile nature of the crypto world worry the Finance lister? Schmiedt says she’s used to it. “I think one of the consequences of working in this space is that you become inherently quite resilient and also naturally gravitate toward a long-term focus that ensures that when all the noise around you continues to happen, you can really center yourself around the mission,” she says.
Other women are pursuing creative endeavors, like Entertainment lister PinkPantheress, who released her debut album, Heaven Knows, in November following a sold-out tour in Europe and the U.S. and a collaboration with Under 30 lister Ice Spice on hit song “Boy’s A Liar Pt. 2.” Media & Marketing lister and British social media star Madeline Argy, 23, has amassed a social media following of 7.5 million, and is now expanding her reach through her Pretty Lonesome podcast, which she launched with 30 Under 30 alum Alex Cooper’s The Unwell Network in October 2023. Forbes estimates Argy earned roughly $1 million last year, thanks to brand deals with companies like Google, Spotify and Coach.
But as much as social media has contributed to her rise to fame, Argy says she tries not to overthink it–it’s life experiences and off the cuff thoughts that ultimately perform the best on her platforms.
“There was a period of time where I was so stressed about putting out content that I kind of stopped going out and experiencing things,” she says. “[Ideas] come to me when I’m ready to receive them.”
Check out these stats about the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe class of 2024—and don’t forget to view the full list here.
30 Under 30 By The Numbers
FUNDING
$1 billion+
More than $1 billion raised in funding–down from $3 billion last year.
AVERAGE AGE
27
The youngest is 14 (Alisha Weir on the Entertainment list).
SELF-IDENTIFY AS PERSON OF COLOR
23%
Some 12% of listers declined to self-identify.
GENDER
37% women, 62% men and 1% non-binary
This amount of women has increased from our 2023 Europe list, where 33% of listers were women.
(CO)FOUNDERS
70%
The majority of listmakers are founders or cofounders of company. Many of the rest are actors, musicians, creators or athletes that are building their own brands.
TOP COUNTRIES
United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain and Denmark
Belgium, Ireland and Italy all tied for sixth place.
SOCIAL MEDIA
262 million+
This is the total social media following of the celebrities on our list.
WORKLOAD
62 hours/week
This is the average hours per week the Under 30 Europe Class of 2024 works.
MORE FROM 30 UNDER 30 EUROPE 2024
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