Europe is reclaiming its leadership position through its historical strengths in education, fashion, music, and technological development. While the US led in internet development in the 1990s-2000s, Europe is now producing a growing number of global leaders in various industries like travel, gaming, finance, and more. Key drivers enabling Europe's resurgence include the lean startup model requiring less capital, growing networks of serial entrepreneurs, strong local innovation clusters, and structural factors that drive European companies to expand internationally early on.

1. Why Europe is Reclaiming Its
Leadership Position

2. 2
Europe – Historic
Leadership Offline …
Education
English Schools
UK
Eton College
15th Century
14th Century
Renaissance
Italy
1987
LVMH
France
H&M
ZARA
Gucci
Paris
Beethoven 7 of top 10 worldwide
destinationsMozart
The Beatles
1960s
Oxford Switzerland Finance
FashionTravelMusic
Spain
Pearson
Rolling Stones
Italy

3. 3
… and in Technological
Development
Chemicals
Tim Berners-Lee
Biotech Pharma Transport
Sustainable
Energy
Internet/
Mobile
BASFAgriculture
Textiles
Carbon Tech
Airbus
Novo Nordisk
Aspirin
Roche
GSK
Novartis
UK
Germany
Dyes
Jet engine
GSM
Racal
Penicillin
Vaccinations
Nitrogen Fixation
Dyson
First Computer
First Car Benz
Marconi
Pasteurisation
Television

4. 4
US Led the Internet Charge but Europe Accelerating
• Successful tech
companies primarily
from US
• Focus around Silicon
Valley
• Some European
successes at the end of
the decade
Market
Evolution
• US still the major
market – homegrown
and acquired overseas
• Preferred destination
for tech worldwide
• Some early successes
in Europe
(Skype, lastminute.co
m)
• Deeper pools of capital
in the US
• Focus on tech
infrastructure –
engineers key
• Business and consumer
connectivity
• Deeper pools of
venture and corporate
capital in US
• New areas of tech
excellence outside of
Silicon Valley
Factors
1990s 2000s 2010s
• European hubs
fostering creativity
• US still major market
but …
• … Europe producing a
growing number of
global leaders
• ‘Lean startup’ reducing
capital needs
• Core infrastructure in
place – platforms and
services built on top
• Geographical
constraints removed

5. 5
Travel Fashion
Gaming
Music
(122 countries)
(122 countries)
(3 countries)
QXL/Tradus
(150 countries)
(55 countries)
(29 countries)
(200 countries)
(6 countries)
(170 countries)
(200 countries)
(34 countries)
(120 countries)
(8 countries)
(150 countries)
(37 countries)
(170 countries)(40 countries)
(27 countries)
European Global
Market Leaders
(14 countries)
(39 countries)(41 languages)
Finance

6. 6
Key Drivers of the Ecosystem
• Emergence of the ‘lean start-up’ levels the playing field and removes the handicap of less capital
– Open source software, cloud computing etc mean less capital needed to get product to market
– Able to leverage existing platforms for distribution, virally – Twitter, Facebook, Google Play
• Growing critical mass of serial entrepreneurs provides role models and guidance in Europe
– Angel consortia, entrepreneur-led funds, mentoring
• Government-driven and organically developed local clusters generating better interaction
– Silicon Roundabout in London
– Mitte in Berlin
– Helsinki, Stockholm etc
• Structural and geographical factors drive early focus internationally
– Domestic markets are typically smaller, so operational incentive to expand
– Deeper capital markets typically outside of Europe need to see international expansion to invest
– Experience of dealing with different cultures on the same continent makes intercontinental
expansion easier to execute