Startups in Sweden vs Startups in Silicon Valley, 2015 edition
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The document discusses Neo Technology, Inc.'s growth, comparing Swedish and Silicon Valley startup ecosystems across various axes, including skill sets, funding, and culture. It highlights the advantages of Swedish innovation, such as a supportive social fabric and a collaborative culture, while noting challenges like a small domestic market. The company aims to blend American business practices with Swedish values to leverage its competitive advantage.
Startups in Sweden vs Startups in Silicon Valley, 2015 edition
- 1. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Building An American Company With A Swedish Soul Monki Gräs, Jan 2015 @emileifrem #neo4j
- 2. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Agenda i. Main: $ diff -bBp silicon_valley_startup sveedish_startup ii. Bonus: How Neo Technology uses (aspects of) Scandinavian culture as a competitive advantage
- 3. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Context
- 4. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential !!!2000!!!!!!!!!2003!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2007!!!2009!! 2011! 2013! 2014! 2015! Neo4j:'The'Graph'Database'Leader' First'' na7ve'' graph'DB'! in!24/7! produc3on! Invented' property' graph' model! Contributed! first'graph' DB'to'open' source' $2.5M'Seed' Round!from! Sunstone!! and!Conor! Funding! Technical! Leadership!
- 5. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential !!!2000!!!!!!!!!2003!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2007!!!2009!! 2011! 2013! 2014! 2015! Neo4j:'The'Graph'Database'Leader' GraphConnect,!! first'conference' for'graph'DBs' First'Global'2000'!! Customer! ! ! Introduced!Cypher! as!first'and'only' declara@ve'query' language'for! property!graph! Published' O’Reilly'book' on!Graph& Databases! $11M'Series'A'' from!Fidelity,! Sunstone! and!Conor! ! $11M'Series'B'' from!Fidelity,! Sunstone! and!Conor! ! Commercial! Leadership! First'' na@ve'' graph'DB'! in!24/7! producDon! Invented' property' graph' model! Contributed! first'graph' DB'to'open' source' $2.5M'Seed' Round!from! Sunstone!! and!Conor! Funding! Technical! Leadership!
- 6. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential !!!2000!!!!!!!!!2003!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2007!!!2009!! 2011! 2013! 2014! 2015! Neo4j:'The'Graph'Database'Leader' GraphConnect,!! first'conference' for'graph'DBs' First'Global'2000'!! Customer! ! ! Introduced!Cypher! as!first'and'only' declara@ve'query' language'for! property!graph! Published' O’Reilly'book' on!Graph& Databases! $11M'Series'A'' from!Fidelity,! Sunstone! and!Conor! ! $11M'Series'B'' from!Fidelity,! Sunstone! and!Conor! ! Commercial! Leadership! First'' na@ve'' graph'DB'! in!24/7! producDon! Invented' property' graph' model! Contributed! first'graph' DB'to'open' source' $2.5M'Seed' Round!from! Sunstone!! and!Conor! Funding! Technical! Leadership! Extended'' graph'data' model'to!! labeled! property!graph! 150+!customers' 50K+!monthly! downloads' 500+!graph!! DB!events! worldwide!! ! $20M'Series'C'' led!by!Creandum,! with!Dawn!and! exisDng!investors!
- 7. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Reflections on running a startup in Sweden vs The Valley *My* perspective
- 8. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential “On a per capita basis, Stockholm is the second most prolific tech hub globally, with 6.3 billion-dollar companies per million people (compared to the Valley with 6.9)” http://www.zdnet.com/article/stockholm-is-the-most-prolific-billion-dollar-startup-hub-behind-silicon-valley/
- 9. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Despite this…
- 10. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential … and this “Tax burden as percentage of GDP” (OECD 2010)
- 11. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential My Observations (thus far) • Let’s compare Sweden and the valley along six five axes: • Skill set • Funding • Government & Policy • Culture • Market • NGO (Nitty-Gritty Operations!) • Warning: Bring huge grain of salt. All of these are just subjective reflections and heavily (enterprise) software biased.
- 12. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Skillset - Hackers • Very high average skill • High and early internet penetration • Predated by early PC penetration (“home PC reform”) • Probably among the best in the world when it comes to mobile (because unlike in the valley, mobile phones actually work) • Employee affinity is higher <— compounding effect of this is huge! Swedland The Valley • The best in the valley are the best in the world • Deep technology mainly based on experience from leading tech companies like Facebook, Google, etc • But combined with a general savviness about running a startup • Most sophisticated and influential early adopters in the world
- 13. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Skillset - Mentors • Very few • Most (but not all!) suck, because if they didn’t they already moved to London or the Valley • There’s a strong positive first derivative here — huge diff vs a few years ago Swedland The Valley • Most experienced and clueful in the world. (x) • Most willing to share in the world. (y) • x * y = leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else in the world • Don’t think anyone will catch up for several decades
- 14. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Government & Policy • Some immature legislation, e.g. around stock options • Strong labor laws • “Quick to hire, never fire” • But legislation / policy don’t really move the needle in either direction in my experience: • Taxes don’t really matter • Setting up a company is equally easy Swedland The Valley • I guess very pro- business? • In reality just seems pro lawyer to me
- 15. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Culture • Less quarter capitalism than the valley and more long-term sustainability • OTOH, less “shooting for the stars” • Supposed challenges that haven’t been a problem (for me): • Cultural fear of failure • Lack of fellow entrepreneurs Swedland The Valley • Echo chamber rocks for staying on the leadin’ bleedin’ edge • Everyone’s as clued in about startups as you are
- 16. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Market • Small domestic market • Swedish is only spoken in Sweden (and some 5% of Finland) • Companies have to go outside of Sweden for scale • For good and for bad Swedland The Valley • Harmonized, US domestic market, strongest economy in the world • High influence consumers, trend setters
- 17. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential “Nitty-Gritty Operations” • Trust makes a lot of things easier • Invoices are kinda cool • The social fabric in Sweden is very powerful • Parental leave, medical benefits, daycare, etc Swedland The Valley • Guilty until proven otherwise (and probably a little bit longer) • Service providers galore • But everything in the valley is less friction and more liquid
- 18. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential So why again? • Why does Sweden have a disproportionate (to its population) amount of “global” startups? • Some ideas: • Small domestic market — has to go outside • High PC penetration -> Internet penetration -> Working Mobile technology • Good English • Reaaaally cold winters?
- 19. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential From The N eo C ulture D eck How we use (aspects of) Scandinavian culture as a competitive advantage
- 20. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Cultural Identity I frequently say that I want to create an American company with a Swedish soul. What does that mean?
- 21. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential <oooh! movie time!> http://youtu.be/SX1rQdUl8-M?t=59s
- 22. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential We value good consensus(tm) and intellectually honest discussions • There’s Good Consensus(tm) and Bad Consensus(tm) • Bad Consensus • Analysis paralysis / Dragged out discussions / Deadlocks • Countered by clear decision- making authority and narrowly defined groups • Good Consensus • Buy in from all parties who will execute on a particular task • Leads to alignment and more efficient execution • Enables one of the strongest forces on earth: intrinsic motivation
- 23. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential We value good consensus(tm) and intellectually honest discussions facts + logic judged on merit, not origin
- 24. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential We value good consensus(tm) and intellectually honest discussions • Furthermore, we invite and expect Neo employees to challenge decisions-in-the-making. • It is NOT ok to sit back and watch Neo go in a direction you believe is wrong. Speak up! • But we balance that by disagreeing and then committing: once a decision has been made, it doesn’t matter if we agreed or disagreed. Then we execute.
- 25. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential Conclusions? Unclear.
- 26. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential But, we’re hiring! :) London Malmö Silicon Valley
- 27. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential thank you!