DutchNews.nl, Thursday 28
March 2013
Nothing
combats frustration about the European economic deadlock like meeting creative,
ambitious internet entrepreneurs.
Last
Thursday I met with nine, among them the founders of Skype, Rovio, Spotify,
Tuenti, Seedcamp and The Next Web. These are all young men and women who, in
the last five to ten years, developed their original ideas into companies
reaching millions of people.
It wasn’t
easy. They had to find finance, and struggled with administrative obstacles,
difficult labour legislation and a lack of qualified staff. But they didn’t
give up.
Maybe
wanting something and going for it is what makes an entrepreneur an
entrepreneur. They are looking at ways to improve the climate for new start-ups
in Europe. How can we make them stay in Europe, introduce innovative concepts
and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs to do the same?
Fearless
Their
message to other European entrepreneurs is clear: ‘be creative and fearless’.
Look upon the obstacles as so many challenges. Failing is not a problem, not
trying is. More action is needed to get this message across and that is also
the responsibility of successful entrepreneurs in their interaction with
start-ups.
They also
have some good advice to governments. Tax systems, education and bankruptcy rules
should be geared towards stimulating entrepreneurship, not discouraging it.
Government leaders should go to successful entrepreneurs for advice more often.
European
cities, too, can do much more to become exciting places for businesses to
settle. In their efforts to attract tourism, some cities are running the risk
of turning into museums. The (local) authorities must also show what they are
made of. Why not introduce a 1% rule for start-ups the way we did for the arts?
Angry Birds
When you
say dotcom company, people will think of Silicon Valley rather than Stockholm,
London, Berlin, Flanders or Amsterdam. But things are changing. In the space of
a few years, some of the European IT start-ups have risen to the top.
Their
creative products have found a place in the daily lives of millions of people,
including mine. At the end of a working day I turn to Skype for a chat with my
grandchildren in the States. Spotify provides me and 20 million others in 24
countries with ‘music for every moment’. And if I need to release some pent up
energy I download a higher level of Angry Birds, just like 250 million other
users do every month. Rovio, the makers of Angry Birds, attracts an even bigger
number of users than Twitter.
Europe can
innovate on a scale previously only associated with Silicon Valley. We have the
talent. Europe is full of creative entrepreneurs. What we need is governments
who give them the opportunities to bloom. The start-ups are our European stars.
Neelie
Kroes is the euro commissioner in charge of the Digital Agenda
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