Section

People

People on Europa Now: profiles of the founders and makers giving the European tech scene its accent.

In a field experiment at a car wash, 300 customers received loyalty cards requiring 8 paid visits for a free wash — 34% finished when the card had 10 spaces with 2 already stamped, compared with 19% given 8 empty spaces and exactly the same reward.

People

How a Head Start on a Loyalty Card Doubles Customer Follow-Through

A classic behavioral economics experiment reveals that showing customers they've already made progress toward a reward—even when the actual requirement stays identical—dramatically increases completion rates.

Across 355 cities in 40 countries, researchers handed in 17,303 supposedly lost wallets — and adding cash raised the share of recipients who contacted the owner from 40% to 51%, making people more likely to send an email when there was money to keep.

People

How Cash in a Lost Wallet Changes What People Do

A massive field experiment across 40 countries tested whether money inside a found wallet makes people more likely to contact its owner. The answer challenges assumptions about greed and dishonesty.

Psychology says people who reach their 60s regretting the hours they worked aren't selfish or ungrateful for what they built — they're often the ones who mistook being indispensable at work for being important in the life that would remain after the

People

The Indispensability Trap: Why Career Success Can Leave You Empty at Retirement

Professionals who reach their sixties regretting overwork aren't ungrateful for their achievements—they've confused being essential at the office with mattering in the life that follows. Psychology reveals how this confusion happens and what prevents it.

Building a DIY handheld thermal camera for work and play

Makers

Arduino Maker Builds Handheld Thermal Camera with UNO R4 and Seeed Studio Sensor

Katie Dumont of element14 Presents has assembled a working thermal imaging device using an Arduino UNO R4 Minima board, demonstrating how hobbyists can access infrared vision for both practical diagnostics and creative exploration.

P.A.R. is a flip-squisk display that draws your pixel art

Makers

P.A.R.: A Robot-Powered Pixel Art Display Built From 3D-Printed Flipping Squares

Zimm has created an unconventional take on the classic flip-disc display using a robotic arm and 3D-printed square discs, letting internet users submit artwork that the machine physically renders in real time.

This custom motorized turntable makes welding easier

Makers

Arduino-Powered Welding Turntable Keeps Seams Steady

Greenhill Forge built a motorized rotary table controlled by Arduino to help welders maintain consistent positioning on curved workpieces and long seams.

Paula Petcu: “We’re Teaching Machines to Understand Humans”

Founders

Paula Petcu on Teaching AI to Read the Room: The Interhuman AI Story

The CEO of Copenhagen-based Interhuman AI explains why machines that only process words miss most of human communication, and how her company is building AI that understands hesitation, stress and confusion in voices and faces.

The EU-Startups Podcast | Interview with Karin Fleck, CEO and founder of Vienna Textile Lab

Founders

From Oil to Biotech: How Vienna Textile Lab's CEO Is Reimagining Sustainable Dyes

Karin Fleck, founder of Vienna Textile Lab, discusses her pivot from the energy sector to developing microorganism-based textile dyes that offer an environmentally responsible alternative to synthetic colorants.