According to the report Startup Heatmap Europe 2016, presented Thursday at Tech Open Air in Berlin, startups in Europe seek talent rather than money. Other conclusions were less obvious.
The people of the Startup Heatmap Europe report asked 700+ European founders about what moves them, literally and figuratively. The main question: Where would you like to start up if you could begin all over again?
As it turns out: Amsterdam stays popular among European founders. It took the overall number 3 spot for the hub where entrepreneurs would've liked to start their business. This goes for Western, Eastern and Southern Europe. The Dutch capital is number 4 for founders in Northern Europe (Baltics + Nordics), losing one rank due to the renewed popularity of Stockholm for those regions. London remains number 1, Berlin is still second.
The surveys were taken from November 2015 – April 2016, so the research doesn't show a possible and not unthinkable Brexit effect in the ranking.
Growth in startup workforce
Main conclusion for the Dutch startup scene is that The Netherlands have grown strongest due to massive startup inflow, increasing the startup population by 31 percent. We don't know exactly why, but the StartupDelta program, the initiatives from StartupAmsterdam and the startup visa could be a cause.
Austria is second (+20%), followed by the UK (+17%). For the whole Benelux area (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) the inflow is +10 percent. If all the numbers in the report are correct and are representative, Italy has a problem: 29 percent of the startup workforce migrated.
So while finding talent is the most important for startup founders, it certainly looks like there's plenty to be found in The Netherlands.
The Startup Heatmap Europe is an initiative of the European Startup Initiative, a non-profit organization supported by Allianz and Atomico.