Which European country will become a startup "mecca"?
America has always been seen as a place where tech startups are born (especially Silicon Valley and San Francisco).
Historically, Europe has been a place for universities and banks (Italy, etc.)
And as times evolve and the need for technology, startups, etc., evolves, I would like to see this culture spread to Europe as well.
Do you have any tips for countries that can become a hub for entrepreneurship?
I usually see a lot of Scandinavian startups, a lot of French tech solo-founders, but yesterday I came across a project taking place in Germany at Schloss Bückeburg.
It would make sense that the economically strongest country can become the startup mecca.
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Altern
France!
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@dariubs I would like to hear also the reason :)
Probably Estonia, it has the highest unicorn density in Europe
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@d_ferencha I know only about lower taxes for bit tech startup companies outside of this country, when they seek Estonia as Tax residency (heaven)? Which unicorns do you mean?
@busmark_w_nika Bolt, Wise, Pipedrive
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@d_ferencha I think that Scandinavian countries have more startups, tho.
@busmark_w_nika Oh yes, they do, and the UK too, but unicorns per capita... nobody has it like Estonia 🙂
DiffSense
@d_ferencha The thing about tax havens is that. Yes on paper they have lots of innovative companies. Take Switzerland. But as the old saying goes. "It takes a village" Usually the talent and resources and the infra to furnace these unicorns happened outside the tax havens. And then they move there after all the hard work completed in the village. and the village isnt in the tax havens its outside. the tax havens just take the credit because now the unicorns nest there. Take Ikea. the owner lived most of his life in Switzerland. but it was born in Sweden. So the swiss take the credit for such high GDP per capita. # food for thought
@d_ferencha probably right, they've created a very well structured digital ecosystem to support that. Go Estonia!
Curatora
There's huge potential in India's startup culture and entrepreneurship. In the near future, India will emerge as one of the leading startup hubs in the world.
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@imtiyazmohammed yep, they are skyrocketing in India. But it is not in Europe. 😅
Really interesting question! Places like Berlin and Stockholm already have strong momentum because of their mix of talent, culture, and relatively affordable cost of living compared to Silicon Valley. Portugal has also been attracting a large number of digital nomads and early-stage startups, partly due to its visa flexibility and lifestyle appeal. My guess is we’ll see multiple hubs emerge rather than one single ‘mecca’ — each country offering something slightly different for founders.
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@stellarcarto47 I have heard that Portugal is not so beneficial anymore. It used to be like that maybe 5 – 6 yrs ago but once I got into the discussion with one girl on Bluesky this year and she confirmed that.
Uxia
Definitely not Spain :( Even though we have amazing quality of life, beautiful cities, delicious food, and great weather :)
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@borja_diazroig It's a pity. Beautiful country, also big.
Prague seems to have a thriving tech scene.
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@tmtabor I love Prague (but almost everyone who has visited it). And culturaly they are close to my country – Slovakia :)
My sense is that there are three strong contenders for this title; Berlin, Paris, and London.
Having lived and worked in Silicon Valley and now outside of Paris can say there are definite similarities in energy and community. London seems to attract more finance than start up but feels like they have strong potential to see some real gains in growing their tech startup space. And Berlin for more obvious reasons, has been a hub for intellectuals, thought leadership especially in the Web3, Defi, Blockchain spaces and Decentralization as a fundamental tenet of evolving technology in general.
Personally I hope it's Paris that emerges, but I'm definitely biased.
Interested to see what others think!
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@ebonybelle I think that Germany could be that country, they are very work-oriented :D Have had that experience with them, but it also seems that the bureaucracy is very limiting.
Cal ID
France has quietly built a strong startup scene with solid VC support, and even public initiatives for tech.
Scandinavian countries (especially Sweden and Denmark) are also taking good initiatives!
Germany seems poised for a breakout, given economic strength and new projects popping up, but it'll take more risk tolerance and founder-friendly policy to really catch up.
I think EU countries should make their work-visas a bit more flexible (As I've heard from a few founder friends there)
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@sanskarix I am so happy you mentioned restrictions. Exactly, one of the setbacks of this continent is bureaucracy. 😬 So what is the verdict? Which country?
Cal ID
@busmark_w_nika My bet will be on France, but if I had to choose a city, I'd say London
@busmark_w_nika From my perspective, the U.S. has always felt very open to entrepreneurs, especially in terms of opportunities and the overall startup culture 🚀. Just look at some of the tech giants that started or thrive here — Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and even TikTok’s U.S. operations 💻🌟. The environment clearly supports innovation. I know taxes can vary a lot depending on the state 💰, but overall it feels very supportive. I don’t know much about the startup culture in Europe yet, but maybe Ireland 🇮🇪 — it seems more open for startups within Europe, with many large companies having European branches there and a growing startup scene 🌍✨. It’s really interesting to see more hubs emerging there.
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@1001binary Ireland can be a good point. I totally overlooked that Meta is there.
If you would've asked before COVID, I would've said Romania, where I live. We were on a strong trajectory, that encouraged business with rather lenient taxation, we had a substantial talent pool with lots of technical universities producing hordes of good, well trained, proficient developers, designers and executive level professionals, we had moderate to low salary expectations on average and we were happy with the work contract protections (which weren't as punitive for companies as in France, or as detrimental to employees as in the USA). There were even signs of government support, European funds availability and some startup incubators like Innovation Labs growing to maturity and a solid process.
However, now I'm betting on either Estonia, France or Poland, out of which I think Poland has the best mix of conditions, but lacks substantial government subsidies which France can afford, but it still would be my choice for the next 20 years.
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@viorelmocanu This is a fact – I hear more often that Poland is nailing it almost in every aspect: economy, using European funds, defence (military) etc.