The world tends to vision of Europe, fragmented, bureaucratic and non -funding – a difficult place to build international companies. But these same restrictions are the reason that Europe produces some of the most flexible companies today. The forces of discipline. A fragmentation gives startups a variety of talent. Limited financing pushes the founders to dispose of the world since the first day.
In today’s market, where investors are rewarded for noise and customers asking for solutions that operate across the border, and the assumed weaknesses in Europe have become its greatest strengths. Our $ 1 billion trip proves this.
Progress
In the first days of Datasnipper, our founders did not have a lot of capital, and to get to know the brand, and certainly there is no imaginary office. They had a few laptops, a joint working space multiplied like a lunch room, and a barely produced product. This may seem like a list of defects, but I think it is the main reasons that make the work move quickly enough to win.
When you do not have wide resources, you should turn until you are creative, trick and fast. Instead of excessive engineering, you experience ideas quickly. Instead of waiting for “perfect” conditions, you can take action with what you have.
For example, they focused without mercy on entering our products in the hands of customers as quickly as possible. Often, very early. This was intended. I created a very fast reactions episode to build and improve our offer. They move quickly and repeat quickly.
SCRAPINESS changes your psychology. Each obstacle becomes a mystery to solve, not a reason to stop. They had no budget for large ticket marketing campaigns, so they built an army of customer advocates by solving their problems personally. They had no data science team, so they taught themselves analyzes at night to understand the standards. They did not have a dedicated quality guarantee section, so each employee tested hard features, including the founders themselves.
This continuous bias towards the progress of the Polish allowed us to repeat within weeks, which usually took months of companies to make a decision on it. The lean approach and the leanness they used out of necessity has become part of our DNA. Even when we can spend more resources at the bottom of the line, we sought to work with the same mentality.
Use your European site for sale worldwide
Unlike American startups that can grow large while maintaining homes, European founders have been working worldwide since the first day. They have to be an advantage.
From one headquarters, we can sell across the various markets in Europe, use multi -language talents, and reach customers on three continents within 24 hours. Morning call with Asia, and the mid -day clarification with Madrid, and the afternoon stadium to New York, all without leaving Amsterdam.
Various talent in Europe makes this more powerful. You can use original loudspeakers for your main markets without opening foreign subsidiaries. You can easily rent from outside the European Union and take care of their visa without any of the challenges of the H1-B visa that you will face in the United States. It is one of the reasons that enable us to expand revenues worldwide as it continues to be in Europe. Geography, diversity and time areas have turned into strategic advantages.
Think globally when collecting donations
Many European founders are limited to collecting donations with home grass. This is a mistake. If you want to build a global company, you need global capital.
This means communicating with investors in the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Not only individuals whose friend can offer you on coffee. One of our biggest supporters came from cold awareness. You should pick up the phone (or send a well -thoughtful email) to explain the reason for the capabilities of your product all over the world.
Lift from global investors also indicates your team’s ambition and market. It is not a matter of requesting money; It comes to showing that you are building something that goes beyond the local markets. The right investors not only write a check, but also open the doors for clients, talent and partnerships in their areas.
Why can Europe compete with (and even overcoming Silicon Valley?
Did we extend faster in the United States? maybe. But “faster” is not always better. The restrictions of forced Europe discipline. We did not raise much early. We did not rented before the revenue. We did not chase shiny features, no one needs.
Today, our headquarters are still in Europe. Our team extends the continents. Our customers are in 170 countries. A billion dollar story from California may not come. It can come from a city where coffee is stronger, the older buildings, and the team is already thinking worldwide since the first day.
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