#LDNTechWeek:
America’s Hottest Tech Hubs
The world thinks of Silicon Valley as America’s hottest tech hub — that isn’t as much the case anymore. This past Thursday evening, Dan Glazer, a partner of Fried Frank Technology, hosted a warm collaboration with UKTI USA (Pru Ashby — NYC, Helen Moore — SF, James Cummings — LA), Boston’s Chief of Economic Development John Barros, Joyce Shen of Thomson Reuters, Gus Franklyn-Bute from SelectUSA, VP of Notion Capital Wayne Gibbins and MassChallenge UK staff, Fhiwa Ndou (programme manager) and Hailey Woldt (communications manager).
Having been with our Boston office for two years and grown up right outside the city, Fhiwa elaborated on the “Beantown” startup opportunities, resources and support MassChallenge offers as a part of the Boston startup ecosystem and its expansion into London.
What if you could give startups as much as possible with nothing in return… ‘Paying it forward’ can be very valuable.
Fhiwa also discussed the continued the links between the Boston and London startup ecosystems and welcomed John Barros of the City of Boston.
John Barros showed the different personalities and histories each tech neighborhood within Boston had to offer, from the heart of medical tech and academia to the most recent innovation breakout hub.
Joyce Shen, of Thomson Reuters, and Pru Ashby, of London & Partners gave their insights into the NYC scene. Pru livened up the crowd with her observations as an Englishwoman in NYC.
Following NYC, our own Hailey Woldt took the stage to wow the crowd with #TexasFacts. Being a native Texan, she explained to the crowd that there’s a lot more to Austin than South by Southwest, and that compared to the cost of living in London, you could live like a king in Austin.
Continuing the march west, the discussion shifted to the West Coast, namely San Francisco and LA. Helen Moore from UKTI USA was proud to tout the impressive stats of San Francisco
“Content is king in LA”, according to James Cummings, also of UKTI USA. Though, according to James, while the media and entertainment industry in LA is booming, the climate doesn’t hurt either:
People have this impression that people in LA just hang around on the beach in their bikinis all day. Well, that’s because people do hang around on the beach in their bikinis all day!
Continuing on, Gus Franklyn-Bute from Select USA broke down the different industries in the US and explained that, while tech gets all the press, manufacturing is still the top industry in the US.
Wayne Gibbins of Notion Capital wrapped up the evening with an in depth look at the VC scene in the States, complete with top tips for people looking to get funding in America
- Have US Customers/Traction — Demonstrate that your product has traction in the US market, US customers, strategic partners, evidence of a working US go-to-market strategy
- Be on the ground — If not living there, then being there frequently as the founder; US VCs like to be no more than a one hour drive away
- Spend more time meeting the investor base — Over a period of time, more likely to invest in people they know. Get to know people before raising
- Have great SaaS Metrics — Be hot on your numbers. Demonstrate you can add fuel to an efficient machine
- If you can’t be the exception, be the rule
All in all it was a fantastic night with incredible insight for everyone involved. Thank you to our friends at Fried Frank and UKTI for organizing the event!
