Europe: Startups on the rise in the UK

Today Europe is a thriving startup community with many entrepreneurs gaining from investor opportunities and government support. The UK has broken the record for the second year in a row when it comes to the increase of startups; Holland continues to home some of the biggest tech companies of our time; and this year France is gearing up for one of its most exciting projects yet. 

The Netherlands is home to many innovative startups, both new and those which are already making impressions in their industries. Travelbird is good example of a company that has come out on top, despite the travel industry's being so competitive. One of the factors contributing to its success is that it offers a unique product, online, which revolves around the customer. At the same time, Travelbird has a really positive internal structure with over 500 employees and counting.

According to Bas Beekman, who is the program director at Startup Amsterdam, the city is the perfect breeding ground for young business-orientated minds; with good access to capital, a strong work ethic and a supportive government. He also said: “What we say is that 'if you can’t make it in Amsterdam, you can’t make it Europe’.”

StartUp Britain revealed that a record-breaking 608,110 businesses were registered with Companies House in 2015 across the UK. Greater London took the top spot for the city with the most company formations, followed by Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester. It’s no wonder that the UK is home to so many aspiring entrepreneurs, as there is already an abundance of major companies in many of its cities as we have seen from the success stories like Deliveroo, Gousto and Currency Cloud.

Startups such as Purplebricks.com are leading the way and appear to be setting the trend for customer-focused businesses. Its website allows customers to arrange for property experts to come to their homes to offer their advice and services when estate agents are usually closed. Since founding this successful business in 2014, Michael and Kenny Bruce have received impressive investments and five-star reviews, as well as awards for their concept.

France seems to be one of the most supportive countries in the EU right now when it comes to encouraging startup businesses. It has programmes like School42 which is a free-coding school, giving people equal opportunities regardless of their educational backgrounds.

Another exciting project in the near future is the ‘1000 Start-Ups’ at La Halle Freyssinet, which will be located in the heart of Paris. The city, which has been recently dubbed ‘The New Silicon Valley’, will soon be home to ‘the world’s largest digital business incubator’ hosting 1,000 innovative startups in this impressive and unique working space of more than 34,000 sq m. This new venture, which is the only one of its kind in the world, will only further France’s positive reputation as a country filled with opportunities for young businesspeople.