Linking Europe's startup networks, helping them to grow across borders - Main contents
During my official trips around European Union countries, I always try to make time to visit local startup communities. I am constantly impressed by their dynamism, imagination and drive to succeed. I also learn a great deal from them about how hard it can be - usually is - to make commercial headway.
Starting a new company with a new idea is one thing. Trying to make it grow in a competitive marketplace is another. Startups have their own specific needs: they have a high growth ambition and want to spread across borders easily.
As I have said before, I think startups could be given an easier beginning and helped more to bridge the gap from lab to market. For this, the EU has the Startup Europe programme, which aims to strengthen the business environment for web and ICT entrepreneurs so that their ideas and business can start and grow.
The latest development here is a new single entry point called Startup Europe Club that will link startups across Europe, connecting different networks of ecosystem builders and helping to bridge the gap between investors, corporates and startups.
It will be launched on July 2 during the Accelerators Assembly event in London, and serve as an information hub to guide anyone interested in the startups scene in Europe.
There are several benefits in creating a 'gateway' portal like this. It can help startups to find skilled employees wherever they are in the EU; it can help them to access the right combination of finance throughout Europe; and it can help startups to grow across borders with access to infrastructure.
I take this occasion to also welcome all of you gathering in Brussels this week at the European Young Innovators Unconvention. It's great to see all this entrepreneurial spirit from all over Europe coming to Brussels - and it is a pity that I cannot be amongst you these days. But the European Commission is very well represented by my colleague @GOettingerEU
The subject you are going to discuss, i.e how to scale up in Europe is deeply embedded into the objectives of the Digital Single Market Strategy and I count on the startup communities across Europe to contribute ideas and push for the swift adoptions of these measures in the European Parliament and with their national governments.
In the Digital Single Market strategy, we have tried hard to address the problems that startups face today, to reduce the obstacles so that they have more freedom to innovate and scale up in Europe, while operating across the EU's borders within the internal market.
Simplified and modern rules for online and digital cross-border purchases, for example: this should help e-commerce startups since they will find it easier for them to comply with the laws, allow them to expand across EU faster and offer their services to more customers.
A push for interoperability, for better e-government solutions but also work on platforms - essential for small companies and startups - as well as, of course, VAT. Indeed, most of the DSM in one way or the other is designed to give a strong support push to startups.
We are also working to explore ways to attract more venture capital as part of the Single Market Strategy and the Capital Markets Union, which focuses on improving access to financing for all businesses across Europe and investment projects - startups in particular. As you know, it is in this context that we pursue work on a company law environment that is better adapted to startup needs. Such as: clear rules that make investments easier cross-border; easier hiring of staff in several countries; easier establishment online and across borders; help starting again quickly after failure, among others.
We count on your support and advice in all of this.
Another blog soon.
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