“In the brick-and-mortar retail world, it’s said that the three most important decisions [you’ll make] are location, location and location,” Irene Dickey, a lecturer in management and marketing at the University of Dayton’s School of Business in Dayton, Ohio, said in an interview.
There are many factors that can determine the most conducive city for your business, but there are many who’d also prefer to move to a location for personal reasons – after all, you’d also want to lead a life in a gorgeous city!
Compass’s Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking report talks about where the hot zones for entrepreneurs are developing – and why. We have picked the 10 most gorgeous places from among the top 20 cities for startups listed in this report.
#1 Tel Aviv, Israel
Startup scene: Tel Aviv counts 3,100 to 4,200 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: Tel Aviv startups attract more foreign capital than any other European ecosystem and due to renowned universities such as Tel Aviv University and the Israeli Defense Forces, local tech talent is abundant.
Dominant Industries: Enterprise IT, security, and networking technology.
Opinions: “In Israel, if you come with a big company’s logo, your parents will ask you why you haven’t started your own company. The dream in Israel is innovation—it’s to build a successful company. If you aren’t running your own company, it’s because you haven’t found the right idea yet.”– Amir Shevat, Global Startup Outreach Program Manager at Google.
Hottest startups from Tel Aviv: Any Do, Outbrain, Waze, GetTaxi, Fiverr.
#2 Moscow, Russia
Startup scene: Russia’s capital city accounts for about 22% of the Russian GDP and is home to 2,300 to 3,800 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: Employing a software engineer in Moscow is 75% cheaper than in Silicon Valley with 24% faster time to hire talent.
Dominant Industries: Software, internet.
Opinions: “If you are in a fancy bar in Moscow, it’s cool to tell to a girl that you are an Internet entrepreneur. You can hear startup pitches all around when having a breakfast and there are more accelerators than startups to fit them.” ––Alex Alpern, CEO & Founder at Webinar-COMDI
Hottest startups from Moscow: Mail.ru, Wheely, Vizerra, Coub, Avito.
#3 Amsterdam, Netherlands
Startup scene: There are more than 1,900 to 2,600 tech startups in the city with fifth highest Growth Index of the top 20 cities.
The Aha factor: Nearly 1/5 of all Amsterdam founders have worked for a hypergrowth startup.
Dominant Industries: Software and technology
Opinions: “While most people think of Amsterdam as the World’s capital of red lights, cheese, drugs and tulips, very little know that entrepreneurship – in its most fundamental form – actually originates from the Netherlands. Second, our biking climate and affordable office space and housing are particularly interesting to more founders.” ––Steven Lammertink, Founder and CEO at Cirqle
Hottest startups from Amsterdam: Nimbuzz, Ayden, 3D Hubs, Crowdy House, Fashiolista, Peerby, WeTransfer
#4 Sydney, Australia
Startup scene: Sydney is home to 1,500 to 2,300 active tech startups and half of Australia’s 500 largest companies.
The Aha factor: Around two-thirds of Australia’s startup activity takes place in Sydney, and almost half of all employees have prior experience in a startup.
Dominant Industries: Software, gaming.
Opinions: “Sydney-based entrepreneurs have great access to early-stage deal flow opportunities whereas Series A rounds represent a real challenge. Here many startups face higher fund raising cliff risk. U.S. VC houses have become increasingly active in our market but only starting at the Series B $10 million investment level.” ––Joshua Tanchel, Partner at Deloitte Private
Hottest startups from Sydney: Canva, Pocketbook, Ninja Blocks, Campaign Monitor, Freelancer.com
#5 Vancouver, Canada
Startup scene: Vancouver is currently home to between 1,600 and 2,700 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: The cost to hire a software engineer is less than half as compared to Silicon Valley.
Dominant Industries: Software development, biotechnology, aerospace, and entertainment
Opinions: “Vancouver has grown into an incredible location for startups across a wide variety of industries.With excellent support from the C100, VC firms like VersionOne Ventures, and incubators and accelerators like Launch Academy and Highline, startups have never been in a better position to launch their businesses in Vancouver.” ––Rob Goehring, CEO at RewardStream.
Hottest startups from Vancouver: Latergramme, Control, SparkCRM, ConceptKicker, Trippeo, The Design Love Co.
#6 Singapore
Startup scene: Its business friendly environment is a fertile ground for startups, with 2,400-3,600 active tech startups calling the city-state home.
The Aha factor: The government’s sizable $1 billion Technopreneurship Investment Fund offers up to $2 million per startup. More than 52% of all Singapore startup employees are foreign born.
Opinions: “Singapore is one of the easiest place in the world to start a business, and is in the backyard of a very exciting South-East Asia region. I feel like a kid in a sandbox.” ––Zhihan Lee, Co-Founder and CEO at BagoSphere.
Hottest startups from Singapore: Garena, Fastacash, Carousell, Viki
#7 Sao Paulo, Brazil
Startup scene: The city is currently home to around 1,500-2,700 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: With a Growth Index of 3.5 it was the third fastest growing ecosystem in the top 20 cities. It’s the fourth city in the world set to open a Google Campus this year, which will offer a community for startup founders and hopefuls.
Dominant Industries: eCommerce and SaaS, mobile, marketplaces, and services.
Opinions: “Sao Paulo congregates the main factors for a successful startup ecosystem, including the highest concentration of startups, PE/VCs, angel investors, and global companies in the LatAm region.” ––Guilherme Junqueira, Executive Manager at Brazilian Startups Association
Hottest startups from Sao Paulo: Dafiti, Netshoes, EasyTax, Kekanto, Nubank
#8 Paris, France
Startup scene: The French capital boasts of between 2,400 and 3,200 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: Paris has the second largest GDP for any metropolitan region in Europe and incorporates one of the continent’s largest dedicated business district: La Défense.
Dominant Industries: EdTech, the sharing economy, collaborative consumption, and artificial intelligence.
Opinions: “In the last 5 years the Parisian startup scene simply boomed. From 1 accelerator in 2009 there are now more than 50 incubators verticalized on every sectors. … Being an entrepreneur in Paris is no more anecdotical!” ––Maëva Tordo, Co-Founder and Head of Blue Factory.
Hottest startups from Paris: Blablacar, AppsFire, Mindie
#9 Berlin, Germany
Startup scene: Berlin is home for 1,800 to 3,000 active tech startups and by 2020, Berlin’s startups could potentially create as many as 40,000 new jobs.
The Aha factor: Berlin has the second highest Startup Experience in Europe. A still relatively low cost of living and a relaxed visa-application process attracts many entrepreneurs here.
Dominant Industries:
Opinions: “Besides London and Tel Aviv, Berlin is definitely one of the most interesting cities for startups around the globe,” Ralf Bremer, who oversees development in Berlin for Google, told Mashable.
Hottest startups from Berlin: Wooga, EyeEm, SoundCloud, TradeMob, Delivery Hero, The Football App.
#10 Boston, United States
Startup scene: Boston is second only to Silicon Value in Ecosystem Value with $46 billion and has 3,700 to 4,500 active tech startups.
The Aha factor: Entrepreneurs in Boston generally benefit from a rich network of mentors and supportive organizations such as Bolt, Techstars Boston, Harvard Innovation Lab, and MassChallenge—the latter claiming to be the largest startup accelerator in the world.
Dominant Industries: Science driven and B2B
Opinions: “Boston is known to have a very loyal pool of talent, genuinely interested in a long and enriching engagement with the startup companies they join. And so they get rewarded with the amount of equity that reflects that deeper relationship expectation from both sides, founders and employees.” ––Eveline Buchatskiy, Director, Techstars.
Hottest startups from Boston: Runkeeper, Mobee, Circle, Localytics, PlateJoy