Project Europe CEO Kitty Mayo: ‘Harry Stebbings is like our head of state and I’m prime minister’

Last year, Kitty Mayo was catapulted into the public eye when she took the helm of Project Europe. The accelerator, launched to much fanfare by Harry Stebbings and about 200 entrepreneurs, has a bold mission: to support and invest in founders under the age of 25 to build Europe’s next €100bn companies. But, one year on, what’s it achieved? What’s been the most unexpected challenge? What will Kitty do differently with the second fund? And who’s really in charge? On this episode of the Sifted Podcast, Kitty sits down with host Amy Lewin to discuss all the above, plus: The most telling questions on Project Europe’s application form Who makes the best mentors to founders Why 996 is “outdated” Why she’s stopped trying to be likeable Why more women shouldn't wait to play before a "perfect system" comes along This podcast was brought to you by HSBC Innovation Banking.

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Project Europe CEO Kitty Mayo: ‘Harry Stebbings is like our head of state and I’m prime minister’ is an episode from Startup Europe — The Sifted Podcast by Sifted.

This episode is 39:33 long.

This episode was published on Apr 8, 2026.

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