Scale Up Europe
Every day, I see how painfully far behind Europe is compared to the US & Asia, with respect to the start-up ecosystem. Our corporate law is overly cumbersome and adversarial; sources of funding are thin on the ground; and our founders are, in general, not as ambitious as their counterparts overseas.
We can (and have to) change this.
The success of our start-up ecosystem will shape the future of Europe as a whole. Especially, our politicans underestimate the power of “innovation compounding”. The gap widens slowly at first, then rapidly. And somewhen it will be irreversible.
Exponential growth in technology is usually captured by a small handful of companies. In the same way that those companies make it practically impossible for anyone to catch up with them, so too does this dynamic apply at the level of nations.
In earlier times of more linear technological growth, a “lost year” or even a “lost decade” for a country did not matter that much in terms of the absolute gap in relative development. But those times are behind us. Those countries which are leading now are likely to strengthen their pole position rapidly, year by year.
And here we are with Europe: We look back at two lost decades of progress, which happened to be two decades in which advancement elsewhere was very rapid and serious technological moats were built. The US and China now have capabilities (e.g. in AI) which are leagues ahead of Europe’s. The fact that Covid-19 has hit Europe (and the US) much harder than it has hit China and Asia economically, will only further increase the gap.
There might be a tipping point, after which Europe will have lost the game for good. No matter how hard we might try, the laws of exponential growth will leave us weaker, forever.
So, let’s get our sh… together here in Europe NOW!
I was very happy to see that President Macron, who has realized the importance of a strong Europe with global ambitions, has taken up the task to boost the start-up ecosystem with his initiative ‘Scale Up Europe’.
And I am proud to be involved and to co-chair the deeptech section.
Learn more: https://scaleupeurope.tech/
Lawyer, Networker, AI Technology Expert
3 年https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCer8ibKoM
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3 年I want to enhance breakthrough innovation with you Christian. You are a true visionary with a dedication to push cutting-edge boundaries into a new era of humanity! I'm with you and I hope my voice has been heard!
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3 年Great initiative
Founder, CEO of NorthStrive Companies Inc.
3 年??
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3 年Hi?Christian, I read your post and followed the link to?Scale-Up Europe. I believe this challenge is?#Europe's equivalent to the U.S. decision ?to go to the moon“ in the early 60s. It was then, and it is now about a decision! A commitment of institutions, political parties, organizations, and individuals that innovation is what we need and have to strive for. So you triggered me, and I want to support this movement or be a part of it somehow, but when I hit ?Join us’ on the landing, it says ?Sorry, this event is full.“ - Sorry, but I don’t think this should be possible. Make this a movement, and open it up :-) ?We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win […].“ - John F. Kennedy