Some initial findings from a year in the field of some of Europe's startup cities. Digital entrepreneurship is an engagement with community-- thus it is important for communities to foster these spaces to ensure they can grow. Technological change and the development of the digital economy have drastically reshaped our connection to our work, our cities and to one another. As technology companies and startup firms have begun to comprise a larger proportion of the global economy, entrepreneurs trading in products and services that exist entirely online are less constrained by geography than ever before. While the constraints to geography slip away for these entrepreneurs, locality takes upon a new meaning. Increasingly, aspiring tech entrepreneurs are choosing startup cities-- transnational social spaces existing on top of, and not entirely within the confines of the modern city. The Startup City exemplifies today's urban superdiversity (Vertovec 2007), new forms that are uniquely comprised of people, institutions, practices, and values, making them distinct from other types of transnational communities grounded in shared ethnicity or religion (Faist 1998). Wholly engaged in entrepreneurship and the technologies that have faci take on a global dimension while inhabiting the modern geography of the city. Many times, these spaces and the people that populate them exist outside the confines of local policy, utilizing privilege and human capital to maneuver around bureaucracy and visa policy. As governments increasingly aim to increase competitiveness by supporting the digital economy and the entrepreneurs that sustain it, we investigate the spaces they inhabit. This piece introduces the features and development of Startup Cities, and outlines the challenges and opportunities they present.

1. Natalie Novick,
University of
California San Diego
P R E P A R E D F O R T H E
2 0 1 7 W I N T E R R E G I O N A L S T U D I E S
A S S O C I A T I O N C O N F E R E N C E , L O N D O N , U K
The Startup City:
The meaning of place in Europe's
Digital Economy

2. As technology affords a
growing number of digital
companies the opportunity to
start up anywhere, why do
entrepreneurs choose to
locate where they do?

3. What are the meanings of
these places, and what makes
locations attractive for
Europe's digital
entrepreneurs?

4. WHY STUDY EUROPEAN STARTUP CITIES?
Free movement within the EU allows the opportunity to examine the strategic
choices of startupper locations
Much of the literature on entrepreneurship, the digital economy and
knowledgeworkers is informed by the US or limited to country case studies
Venture capital funding landscape in Europe alters opportunities for European
founders. Constrained funding environment in Europe changes access, size and
participants in this space. Funding data below (Venturebeat 2017).

5. CONNECTION BETWEEN
PLACE AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Place as a market
Place for trust: Individuals' outcomes a function
of not just their network contacts, but larger
societal environment (Granovetter 1973, 1992;
Burt 1992)
Place for financing: Venture capitalists rely on
their social connections to assess the credibility
of entrepreneurs and the promise of their ideas
(Sorenson and Stuart 2001).
Place for shaping an ‘ideal entrepreneurial self’
(Gill and Larson 2013)
Place as venue for social capital (Kwon, Heflin
and Ruef 2013)

6. Measuring the components of the
startup city is challenging due the
its changing landscape.
Ethnographic design allows the
researcher to investigate the
process and mechanisms of these
spaces

7. Digital entrepreneurs and
their teams are defined by:
Entrepreneurial identity: Risk seeking, mission
driven. Economic outcomes are not primary
motivators
Embrace diversity, meritocracy, "born global"
mindset
High uncertainty, markets new and untested
Practiceofentrepreneurshipinvolves
community:learning,sharing,teaching
Community built both online and offline

8. “It should be said again and
again: in every country,
Entrepreneurs usually don’t
fit in the box.”
Nicolas Colin, French tech entrepreneur, VC and impact investor. Co-
Founder & Partner of The Family (London, Berlin, Paris)

9. STARTUP CITIES AS VENUE
FOR IDENTITY FORMATION
AND SOCIAL CAPITAL
BENEFIT
Geographically discrete transnational social spaces
let group members trade on shared values and
expertise
Community membership defined by similar
outlook, values and approach rather than shared
nationality
Allows entrepreneurs to bridge structural holes in
their networks, bestowing legitimacy
Startup cities allow startuppers to engage in
identity formation practices of learning, sharing,
teaching

10. “We’re trusting our friends to help us.
We do know that by better uniting and
activating our local community we can
only achieve bigger and better things
together”
Travis Todd, US entrepreneur, co-Founder Silicon Allee, Berlin

11. Yet, the relationship between entrepreneur and their
community remains under theorized (Lyons et al 2012).
There is evidence that community participation plays a
considerable role in entrepreneurship, by shaping ventures
and creating worth
(McKeever, Jack and Anderson 2015).
Embeddedness enables understanding of how membership
of social groups influences and shapes actions
(Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993)

12. Entrepreneurs describe themselves
as part of a community. We
can examine the cost of community
formation and number of actors
involved to estimate some of the
public good available to each
location.
Events and membership size can
further be used to visualize a startup
city's social capital.

13. SOCIAL CAPITAL OF PLACE
Magnitude different based on the cost of community formation, number of actors
Events, constituency and membership size are ways to visualize a startup city's
social capital.

14. "My advice? start attending sector-specific events.
That’s where you find thought leaders, experts,
doers, investors from your specific industry.
Sometimes speaking for 5 minutes to an
experienced individual could save a lot of time
for you or could also ruin your hopes of building
something.. Be willing to listen to others.
Sometimes you never know who the person sitting
next to you will turn out to be?"
Kiran Maverick, Brussels based tech entrepreneur, community builder.
Founder of I am Tomorrow

15. VENUES FOR TECH AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEETUPS AND
EVENTS, BERLIN OCTOBER 2016 -2017

16. MORE ACTORS, GREATER
DIVERSITY, FEWER
INDIVIDUAL COSTS
Large startup cities like Berlin afford
startuppers multiple opportunities to engage
in community practice of entrepreneurship:
learn, share and teach
Organizations that sponsor events and make
space available lower the individual costs for
startuppers to build a community
themselves
Cities with large population and high density
make it easy to harness the power of online
tools such as meetup.com to build
momentum

17. "Berlin’s tech community (and commitment to diversity
in that community) is a true group effort. It’s impossible
to pinpoint exactly what makes Berlin the inclusive and
supportive environment that it is…One thing that’s for
certain: you can’t simply put the structure in place and
walk away. The Berlin tech community cares about the
Berlin tech community, plain and simple. It’s a daily
effort, and one that comes quite easily when you want
your community to succeed.”
Alexa Schoen, American entrepreneur and business consultant, former
expat to Berlin

18. VENUES FOR TECH AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEETUPS AND
EVENTS, ATHENS OCTOBER 2016 -2017

19. FEWER ACTORS INCREASE
COSTS FOR EACH
INDIVIDUAL, BUT CAN
ACCRUE TIGHTER BONDS
Athens, a small startup city suffers from few
physical spaces for startuppers to congregate
Available venues are costly and sponsorships
are low
Less involvement by local corporates and
public entities means startup scene is
entirely community driven
Smaller constellation of events and activities
means participants connect more regularly
and form stronger connections between one
another

20. “We always enjoy meeting new interesting people,
exchanging ideas and despite our limited time we also
want to give back and offer our help. This is why we
decided to hold office hours in order to have the chance
for a brief sit-down of 20–30 min with people interested
in startups and who might not be actively fundraising or
have not even started their own company. The idea here
is our visitors to set the agenda, sit down and pick each
other’s brains.”
Apostolos Apostolakis, Greek founder of e-shop.gr, co-founder
DoctorAnytime, currently VC parter at Venture Friends

21. Our social media channels show
the greatest performance in terms
of engagement and lead
generation as compared to other
advertising and promotional
channels.
Role of community social capital

22. Places have meaning for digital
entrepreneurs as venues for
identity formation, exchange and
accruing social capital

23. CONCLUSIONS
Large startup cities afford greater levels of social capital for startuppers, and
all members have the chance to benefit from these community resources.
Organizations such as business schools, corporate entities, shared workspaces
and VC/development firms that continually host events lower costs for
individual stakeholders.
Large startup cities help entrepreneurs avoid the "dark side" of
entrepreneurship, and allow better balance of distinctiveness of
entrepreneurship with community belonging.
Smaller cities can accrue the social capital benefits of larger startup cities
through hosting large scale events, sponsoring startup activities, or creating a
culture more open to the culture of digital entrepreneurship (eg. Estonia).

24. CONCLUSIONS
Small startup cities have fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs to act locally.
In places with limited social capital, startuppers will be encouraged to
participate in community online and at tech events away from home. The
less choice in the local environment puts more pressure on individual
participants to support the community.
In small startup cities the outside influence of specific actors or firms can
constrain debate. The smaller scale of the community makes bonds stronger,
but can limit feelings of solidarity.
Further examinations of the landscape of digital economy should include the
role of how social capital can be a public good and how cities support
entrepreneurial identity formation.

25. Thank you
nnovick@ucsd.edu
www.startupcity.co
www.startupheatmap.eu