From London to Stockholm and Dublin, major European cities are vying for the status of European capital of start-ups. What elements do these cities share that enable them to be the start-up hub of choice?
Every decent-sized European city is trying to position itself as a tech hub. These three cities share elements such as already being a transportation hub with a connected airport, access to talent from great universities, a start-up ecosystem supported by government, an investor-friendly environment and strong accelerators to mentor new businesses.
What does Malta need to strengthen its attraction to start-ups?
Malta needs to think differently and position itself as a hub between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa, where start-ups can benefit especially from the latter market. Conferences such as Zest raise the country’s profile and a tax-friendly environment is already making it a target for games and gaming companies. The airport should also be extended, as should the flights that go through it.
How do start-ups disrupt traditional business models and how does this disruption lead to economic growth?
The world is going through the biggest revolution in its history. Traditional business models based on centuries of existence are being disrupted and toppled by start-ups that have improved on these models through technology and mobile phone connection.
The utopia is to be the new platform on which these new businesses are run. The pay-off is huge, so investors are throwing money at what they perceive to be the new Uber, Facebook or SnapChat. Such investment naturally leads to vast economic growth.
The knack is to get up quickly after failing, as all good entrepreneurs should, and to keep going
What do start-ups contribute to a country’s economy?
They provide the bedrock on what comes next. The speed of technology, be it via broadband or mobile means, provides an instant springboard for young people brought up on digital, not adapting to it. They are the future.
Is Europe still lagging behind the US in terms of start-up success?
Silicon Valley is often held up as the way a start-up ecosystem should develop, but it’s a special case. Whether it was the military industry that came out of World War II, subsidies offered to Californian universities in the 1960s, the investment in Nasa and the US support of the entrepreneur, no country can replicate that.
What Europe needs are constant trade sales and exits so these successful entrepreneurs invest their money back in the start-up hub it came from. That makes European start-up success sustainable.
From idea to monetisation – how difficult is the journey, and how many succeed?
That’s a great question, but almost impossible to answer. Nobody said it would be easy, so the journey is not for the faint-hearted and, in many cases, it comes down to mere luck. The knack is to get up quickly after failing, as all good entrepreneurs should, and to keep going. Most people who make the jump from a regular job to a start-up get there in the end – it’s just a question of when.
What comes first: a dynamic start-up community or a strong venture capitalist and angel investor network?
The energy and the passion have to be there in the first place to attract venture capitalists and angel investors. People who have money are continually monitoring start-up communities and cities to see if anything special is happening and why.
Monty Munford is a weekly Forbes columnist who also writes for The Telegraph, The Economist, MIT Technology Review, TechCrunch, Mashable and Wired UK. He will speak at Zest, a two-day conference and networking event focused on breaking borders on June 27 and 28. Zest is being organised by the Malta Communications Authority, in collaboration with Takeoff Business Incubator. Times of Malta is media partner for Zest.