We have built a billion dollars technological unicorn in Europe, living proof that our economy is just as dynamic as that of America. Success comes down to three basic principles

On the current market, where investors reward the efficiency on media threw and customers require solutions that work through the borders, the supposed weaknesses of Europe have become its greatest forces. Our own $ 1 billion trip proves it.

Progress beats the Pole each time

At the start of DataSnipper, our founders did not have much capital, brand recognition and certainly no fancy office. They had some laptops, a shared workspace that doubled as a dining room and a product that barely worked. This may look like a list of drawbacks, but I think these are the main reasons why the company has moved quickly enough to win.

When you do not have in -depth resources, you must turn to creation, ingenious and quickly. Instead of ingesting, you quickly test ideas. Instead of waiting for the “perfect” conditions, you act with what you have.

For example, they focused ruthlessly on handling our product as quickly as possible. Often far too early. It was intentional. He created a very fast feedback loop to build and improve our offer. They moved quickly and iterated quickly.

Scapini changes your psychology. Each obstacle becomes a puzzle to solve, not a reason to stop. They did not have the budget for large ticket marketing campaigns, so they built an army of customer defenders by personally solving their problems. They did not have a data science team, so they learned to have analyzed the analyzes at night to understand the measures. They did not have a dedicated quality insurance service, so each employee diligently tested the characteristics, including the founders themselves.

This constant bias towards progress on varnish allowed us to iterate in weeks which has generally taken months from larger companies to decide. The skinny and disjointed approach that they used by necessity that has become part of our DNA. Even when we could allow ourselves to spend more resources on the whole line, we have tried to operate with the same state of mind.

Use your European location to sell on a global scale

Unlike American startups which can develop largely while remaining national, the European founders operate on a global scale from the first day. They must and it is an advantage.

From a single HQ, we could sell through various European markets, hire multilingual talents and reach customers in three continents within 24 hours. A morning call with Asia, a midday demo with Madrid and an afternoon throw in New York, all without leaving Amsterdam.

The European Talent Basin makes it even more powerful. You can hire native speakers for your key markets without opening foreign subsidiaries. You can easily hire from the outside of the EU and sponsor their visa without any of the H1-B visa challenges that you would meet in the United States. This is one of the reasons why we were able to extend income worldwide while being at its headquarters in Europe. Geography, diversity and time zones have been transformed into strategic advantages.

Think worldwide when collecting funds

Too many European founders limit fundraising to their domestic lawn. It’s a mistake. If you want to create a global business, you need world capital.

This means to reach out to investors in the United States, Asia and the Middle East. Not just individuals that a friend can present a coffee. One of our largest donors has come from the awareness of cold. You should get the phone (or send a well documented email) to explain why your product has global potential.

Raising it from global investors also signals the ambition to your team and your market. It is not a question of asking for money; It is a question of showing that you are building something that transcends local markets. Good investors are not only writing a check, they open doors to customers, talents and partnerships in their regions.

Why Europe can compete with (and even beat) Silicon Valley

Would we have grown faster in the United States? Maybe. But “faster” is not always better. The constraints of Europe have forced discipline. We did not raise too much too early. We did not hire before income. We did not drive out the brilliant features that no one needed.

Today, our HQ is still in Europe. Our team extends over the continents. Our customers are in 170 countries. The next story of a billion dollars may not come from California. It could come from a city where coffee is stronger, older buildings and the team is already thinking on the world from the first day.

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