NYC: A Natural Home for European Entrepreneurs

New York: A Natural

Home for European

Entrepreneurs

Matt Turck

Managing Director

FirstMark Capital

August 27, 2014

About Me

Matt Turck

Twitter: @mattturck

Blog: www.mattturck.com

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When you think of Europeans in NYC, you may be

thinking of this…

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…or this…

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…or this.

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Where you might think Europeans work in NYC

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True, but increasingly: this.

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Turns out there’s very little difference between an

American geek…

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…and a European geek

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Europeans are a key part of NYC’s tech ecosystem

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Media E-Commerce Consumer

Hardware Big Data

FinTechAd/Marketing Health

Enterprise

Note: The above companies have at least one European co-founder and have either their HQ or their US HQ in NYC. NOT A FULL LIST!

Founders come from all over Europe

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United Kingdom

Ireland

Belgium

France

Estonia

Iceland

Spain Sweden

Italy / Malta

Armenia

Netherlands PolandNorway

Portugal

Germany

Denmark

Note: The above companies have at least one European co-founder and have either their HQ or their US HQ in NYC. NOT A FULL LIST!

They come to NYC via different paths

1. Founded in NYC

2. Founded in Europe and grown in NYC

3. Founded and grown in Europe then grown in NYC

4. European company with NYC presence

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• Immediately recognizes potential of launching company in NYC

– European already living in NYC

– Moves to NYC pre-launch

• Builds, grows, and scales company in NYC

– Often works with NYC accelerators, incubators

• Example success stories

Path 1: Founded in NYC

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• Company founded in Europe

• Quickly realizes that needs to engage US market to grow and achieve

scale

– Often pre-funding or series seed

• Opens NYC headquarters to lead US growth and scaling operations

• Example success stories

Path 2: Founded in Europe and grown in NYC

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• Company founded in Europe and begins to grow and scale

– Often has received series seed / A funding from European investors

• Gains traction in European market but recognizes that needs to directly

target US to achieve full scale

• Opens NYC office to lead US effort

• Example success stories

Path 3: Founded and grown in Europe then grown

in NYC

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• Company founded, grown, and scaled in Europe

• Opens NYC base for more efficient US customer base expansion

• Migrates mission-specific team and / or hires local talent

• Example success stories

Path 4: European company with NYC presence

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Many NYC VCs invest in or have backgrounds in

European tech

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Investors with a European background

Matt Turck

FirstMark

Capital

Albert Wenger

Union Square

Ventures

Eric Hippeau

Lerer Hippeau

Ventures

Urs Cete

BDMI

John Borthwick

betaworks

Andrew Cleland

Comcast

Ventures

John Frankel

ff Venture

Capital

NYC VCs invest in Europe

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European VCs invest in NYC

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• Accelerators and incubators

introduce European

entrepreneurs to the NYC tech

ecosystem

• Many events focused on

European startups

– VentureOutItaly

– VentureOutUK

– Hackers & Hefeweizens

– Swiss Tech Night

– The French (tech) Connection

– Nordic High Tech & Design

– Startups & Meatballs

• Techstars NYC success stories

Incubators and accelerators have been a launch

pad for European startups in NYC

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• Several government

organizations in place to support

European startups

• Various initiatives to encourage

international entrepreneurship

– World to NYC, Berlin to NYC,

NYC Venture Fellows, NYC

Next Idea

Government and community organizations provide

a strong support network

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• Strong support network within

the European NYC tech

community

• Various meetups and community

organizations to connect and

engage European entrepreneurs

NYC is a natural home for European startups

• Our Top 10 Countdown:

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Reason #10

• Better time zone difference (compared to Bay Area)

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Reason #9

• Shorter/cheaper flight

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Reason #8

• NYC has a tightly knit and highly supportive startup community

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Hardwired NYC

Data Driven NYC

NY Tech Meetup

Reason #7

• Plenty of talent (tech + design), comparatively less competition

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Reason #6

• B2B: NYC is home to many potential business customers (capital of

finance, fashion, media, advertising, food, etc.)

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Reason #5

• B2C: as the densest, most populated city in the US, NYC provides an

ideal diverse customer base for consumer-focused startups

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Reason #4

• Plenty of investors!

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Reason #3

• Hard to feel homesick

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Reason #2

• NYC is all around awesome

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Reason #1

• And, did we mention… great parties?!

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Here’s to the future…

• Rapid development over the past couple of years; only increasing in

velocity

• Many exciting companies to follow and encourage: stake claim in the

NYC tech ecosystem

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