Spammy startups are becoming more common these days, both US based and Europe based.
What these spammy startups not know or simply ignore: spamming anyone in Europe without prior consent (e.g. opt-in for newsletter) is against the law and therefore illegal and ripe for legal action.
The recommended first step from the UK Information Commissioner's Office [1] is to ask the company to stop. The next step is the ICO asks them to stop.
The second step was very effective at ending the daily texts I was getting from a local pizza place.
What these spammy startups not know or simply ignore: spamming anyone in Europe without prior consent (e.g. opt-in for newsletter) is against the law and therefore illegal and ripe for legal action.