Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Berlin: the best place to launch a start-up?

Over the past year, I've been fortunate to travel to Berlin twice and have been moved by the energy and creativity. My first trip, while meeting a mutual-friend - a founding members of Zalando (Germany's answer to Zappos) - for dinner, I also was fortunate to meet another ambitious start-up entrepreneur, Hannes, who was featured today on the WSJ.com pitching his new company, Iversity.

While the US has several major hotbeds for start-up activity (notably Silicon Alley and more recently, NYC) Berlin's inexpensive living costs and creative culture make the city a breeding ground for those who wish to taking chances. And while NY start-ups probably have better access to financing, Berlin offers places like the Betahaus, which offers an environment to incubate an idea while learning from fellow creatives. If you're new to the start-up world, Berlin might be your best chance to launch, given the creative energy and relatively inexpensive office and labor costs.

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