Startup Heatmap Europe: A Look Into Hotspots & Founder Mobility

This Febuary in cooperation with the europan startup initiative (esi) we asked you to participate in a study conducted among founders in Europe. The aim was to create a heatmap, giving insights into European startup hotspots as well as founder mobility within the scene.

As promised we’re back with the results of the Startup Heatmap Europe survey now – and what they indicate is not only promising for individual countries but also for Europe’s startup and entrepreneurial scene in genereal. But let’s take a closer look:

The online survey which was open from November 2015 to April 2016 managed to get feedback from 700 startup founders throughout the continent. The main question to be answered was

“Where would you like to start-up if you could beginn all over again?“

Startup Heatmap Europe – Main Results

#1 Startup Talent Is Hyper Mobile

Mobility – probably one of the most important factors for founding a startup. In fact, every 5th founder started abroad. 23% of founders have founded their startup in a city which is not their country of origin, meaning they are 5 times more likely to move across borders compared to the average EU citizen.

Birgit Reiter-Braunwieser also mentioned the increasing mobility among founders recently. The CEE Director of ABA – Invest in Austria is convinced that the country is becoming a more important player in a global environment.

But what get’s founders moving?

#2 Access To Capital Is The Least Important Factor

Despite the fact that in some European countries capital can be accessed at a lower barrier than others, this is not the main factor to start a business in a foreign country. The study surprisingly suggests that it’s even the least important factor, which might begin to explain Austria’s situation specifically. As reported last week the Austrian government passed a resolution to foster startups with 185mln Euros – definitely a step in the right direction but still a long way to go.

As the Startup Heatmap Europe study suggests founders preceive it in a similar way:  Vienna performed better than media coverage would suggest and made it to the top 10 of founder’s favorite hubs.

#3 High Tech vs. Internet Startups

Stockholm, Milan, Munich and Vienna are preferred by Internet startups while Copenhagen and Dublin are ranked higher among High Tech startups.

High Tech & Internet startups don’t settle in the same place. Across Europe different hotspots for both types can be found which suggests that differentiation is key.

To download the full report please visit esi’s website.

 

 

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