McKinsey released a comprehensive report on how Europe’s Startup Ecosystems can collaborate and thrive together.
They identified two key focus areas: entrepreneurship and business growth
We’re facing a situation where Europe is falling behind in eight out of ten important future technologies. To get back on track, we need to do better in two main areas:
- Nurturing early-stage entrepreneurial ventures – we should support people who want to start new businesses early on.
- Ensuring the effective scaling of our existing startups – we should also make sure that small businesses that are already running can grow and become bigger.
In the Netherlands, especially, we need to work on the second part – helping our many start-ups to scale.
What we should do to unleash Europe’s Entrepreneurial Potential?
- Harmonization of Standards: Europe should try to make the rules for taxes, how companies work, labor laws, and how things are done in offices more similar. This will make it easier for businesses to work together across borders and for people to invest and work together.
- Create best-in-class Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs): Implementing employment regulations that bring in and keep talented people is extremely important. Creating best-in-class Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) can be a game-changer, providing incentives for top talent to join and stay in European startups.
- Pooling Innovation Funding: By collecting public innovation funding and allocating it through competitive grants, Europe can channel resources effectively into promising startups and research initiatives.
- Unlocking Pension Funds: The report emphasizes the untapped potential of pension funds. European nations can learn from Sweden’s success, where 1% of total pension funds are invested in startups, fueling innovation and entrepreneurship.
Head over to TechLeap for further insights from the report or download the full report here.
Want to hear our thoughts on the report? Drop us a line at hello@mastersofscale.nl.