Just about every city in the world is now teaming with young people (and some older ones) who are starting companies with ambitious and tech-savvy aims. This good essay by a former Facebook European executive underscores how pointless it is for everyone to compare their own region or city with Silicon Valley. Yes that hub will remain potent, but with tech transforming the entire planet there is ample reason for confidence that numerous other places can become vibrant hubs. The bigger challenge for Europe is the continuing prejudice in many countries against entrepreneurship and risk, and labor laws that frequently become punitive. They can unnecessarily increase the risk that an entrepreneur faces in starting something, raising the cost of failure substantially. (Many countries require ongoing unemployment payments for lengthy periods to a fired employee.) What’s amazing is how many great startups emerge in Europe regardless.
