I guess the real point is reflected in the capital efficiency of European start-ups versus their US counterparts.
It would seem that on average, European exits require but 60% of VC backing to build the same value companies – something to further investigate!

Source at: http://thirdexpert.wordpress.com/2008/12/20/lets-hear-it-for-michael-an-loic/

The ‘European [entrepreneurs] have two hour lunches’ point which emanated from Le Web does not match any of my experience of successful startups across Europe in the last 10+ years.

Perhaps those people who don’t have time for two hour lunches also don’t have time for 2 day conferences in Paris?! Ouch…

>>In Portugal, the West Coast of Europe, halfway
>> between the US and the whole of Europe, you just
>>need 5000 € and it takes on average 45 min.

In Ireland – you need €100 and an online submission form.

Very very interesting post. Really. Thanks for it.

I’m kind of bored with the (foremost US) perception of startups in the world. So many great startups are built everywhere, but money still tends to be less fluid.

I responded to this in my blog:
http://www.johnsjolander.com/2008/12/why-do-we-still-think-locally.html

Im glad you have written about the great things that are happening.

I have no doubt there is innovation and great start-ups across the whole of Europe.

I think that it will take us time because of the seperation and language variations but I think there is a powerful network being built here, working on areas we are stong at, as you mentioned. People are starting to lead and not just follow.

I hope your reporting can help the best businesses succeed.

Any startup in any country will be working long hours, evening and weekends. And in the Czech Republic an increasing trend is 3 days a week paid work and 4 days a week startup work (given scant investment support, we support ourselves). There are 168 hours in a week and startups use them all.

Now we’re planning our holidays for 2009 – around the various conferences and expos – a trip to Silicon Valley would be great, and New York. But we’re not planning to stay.

In Portugal, the West Coast of Europe, halfway between the US and the whole of Europe, you just
need 5000 € and it takes on average 45 min.

http://www.empresanahora.pt/
http://www.mj.gov.pt/sections/destaques/outros/ja-foram-constituidas

— MV

I’d sum up the difference between SV entrepreneurs and those in Europe as following:

When starting a business, a European IT entrepreneur always keeps the whole world and its diversity in mind.
A typical SV entrepreneur thinks of the United States as the world.

I completely agree on the fact that there is a substantial environmental difference between Silicon Valley and Europe, but I don’t think that our differences are actually an advantage.

First of all Europe is made of 27 countries and, as I recently wrote on my blog, between Portugal and Latvia there are far more differences than Alaska and Florida (the language being only one of them).

I think that startups can work and flourish also here in Europe, but you can reach high levels in much faster time by moving to the Valley…

Matt – Excellent point. Last.fm is a case in point.

It is definitely encouraging to hear that there is a healthy dedication to innovation and start-ups across the whole of Europe.

I think it is good that Europeans have a different approach to start-ups than in Silicon Valley. The cultural backgrounds are diverse, the ways of working are different and there’s also a different way of thinking. This means that interesting start-ups can evolve that wouldn’t necessarily have been realised within the Silicon Valley cluster.