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to get angel funding, (via a network rather than being introduced) takes a huge amount of rigmarole , yet in america there is at least one vc, that offers a 250k unsecured loan, as a quickstart, just for the development of an idea.

Untill we get something similar, we couldnt hope to have anything like silicon valley.

the thing is, we should have that kind of seed/venture funding in britain, its obvious that the investment bankers, like to take a risk, so if they put, 1% of the money they put into things like CDOs, into startups instead, it would be the greatest thing to happen to the british economy since thatcher.

Our take on that experience is:

First, I’m not sure if there is any distinction between launching a consumer or a business app – the US market is still the big one to go for.

US consumer culture does give consumer focused start-ups the opportunity to scale rapidly, but US business culture is equally innovation-friendly and US companies lead the way as early adopters. Through tech blogs and search engines US clients are going to find you anyway.

Second, I think that European companies can adopt a gradual approach to establishing a presence in the US. It does not have to be a “big bang” relocation before launch.

On a practical level, there are a number of steps that a European company can take to develop a US client base without have to be based there.

As well as regular trips (especially to secure distribution deals), extending customer service to US hours, hosting in the US and pricing in USD (bit of a no-brainer!) are key steps that are making a difference for us.

Interesting perspective and one I’d have to share. I always feel that I’ve returned to the foot of the mountain on returning from the Digital Mission (http://digital-mission.org) trips.

Admittedly, there’s an element of post-trip blues, but I miss the ‘can do’, ‘will fund’ attitude of the US market.

The size and scale of the market can’t be underestimated (although wait until China gets a bit easier to access for UK companies) but it lacks some of the focus that the UK provides.

For a UK start-up, there’s a quality threshold that’s lower than many of the US equivalents, the product of a single market environment that, relatively speaking, has less competition. In the UK, your product/service needs to excel or it dies. (OK, I’m simplifying a little).

But the kind of brutality a UK start-up needs to go through, provides a good grounding and discipline for going into a bigger market. Access to money aside, this is one of the key things that makes the UK’s digital sector so strong.

The next series of Digital Missions that you’ve supported (thanks, BTW) to LA/SF, New York and South by South West, help bridge the pond by linking top UK digital companies with partners and investors in the US, by allowing companies to have the best of both the markets in the US and UK.

There’s more info on the Digital Missions here:
http://digital-mission.org

They’ve crossed the pond and partnered with Metavante Corporation to offer Monitise Americas.

Mobile banking is still in its infancy and America is indeed the golden prize.

while the unified language / homogenous market in the US is certainly appealing, i’ve got to think the EU market is still attractive, even if fragmented. it’s surprising to hear that EU VCs wouldn’t see that territory as their natural habitat, even if they are also expecting startups to go after US audiences as well.

interested to hear more about this when we hop over to London for SeedCamp & the rest of the GeeksOnaPlane trip.

see ya next week…

Although our start-up is from the Czech Republic, US market is crucial for us. We have two people in Seattle (Czech native), and it is extremely difficult for them to get an attention of any US media, VCs or partners. Or it was difficult till the TechCrunch50 event.

After the DemoPit day, after literally 12 hours of intense, non-stop talking about our travel service OnTheRoad.to, exhausted as never before, we all had to agree on one fact: TechCrunch50 was a kick-ass event for us. All the contacts and feedback from VCs as well as potential partners are priceless. Get this, after only one day we got media coverage in Reuters, Washington Post, The Next Web and many others.

In my opinion, it isn’t enough to have someone in the US, it is necessary to attend these types of events, such as TechCrunch50.

I don’t think it is necessary to move to the US, but having someone native to the US on the ground working on your behalf will help to provide an understanding of the culture and a route to develop business relationships.

Excessive consumerism was invented in the US, and it doesn’t translate that well (thankfully).