About
Europe’s consumer industry deserves its own voice.
The Checkout is the publication of record for European commerce — the brands, the capital, and the trends reshaping how great products get built and sold across the continent.
A letter from the founder
Europe’s consumer industry is full of incredible talent, serious capital, and real ambition. But as an industry, we’re fragmented — and we’re behind in how we share knowledge and tell our own story.
That’s the problem I started Venice Founders Network to solve. A private community where Europe’s best consumer founders could find each other, learn from each other, and move faster together.
But a community alone isn’t enough. An industry needs a voice — coverage that reflects what’s actually happening on this side of the Atlantic, not filtered through a US lens.
So I launched The Checkout: a publication covering Europe’s consumer industry — the brands, the capital, and the trends reshaping how our products are getting built and sold.
Venice is the community layer. The Checkout is the editorial layer. Two sides of the same problem.
If you’re building something worth covering or have a story worth telling, we’re open.
Patrick Crowley
Founder, The Checkout & Venice
Why The Checkout exists
Commerce media has a geography problem. The vast majority of coverage, analysis, and conversation about DTC and eCommerce is US-centric. American brands, American funding rounds, American founders, American platforms.
European commerce is a different market with different dynamics. Different consumer behaviours, different regulatory environments, different logistics challenges, different funding landscapes. The Checkout exists to serve this community — the essential daily read for European commerce and the publication of record for this market. When a European brand raises, when a founder has insights to share, when the market shifts — The Checkout is where the community finds out and makes sense of it.
What we cover
Brands
The consumer companies reshaping European retail — from early-stage DTC to scaled omnichannel players.
Capital
Funding rounds, investor moves, and the trends shaping where money flows in European consumer.
People
The founders, operators, and investors building the next generation of European consumer brands.
Trends
Market shifts, regulatory changes, and the forces reshaping how products get built and sold in Europe.
Get involved
Whether you want to share a story, explore a partnership, or join our founder network — we’d love to hear from you.