The 200th 3 Day Startup edition was announced today at the Global Roundup. 3DS is a Friday to Sunday programme, with the mission to kickstart new student-led companies and overall build entrepreneurial capabilities in students and their university communities. The programme started in 2008, in Austin, Texas, and has reached 20 countries so far.
Organisers and participants from all over the world, or ‘3DS’ers’ as they call themselves, recently gathered at the Global Roundup, which was held simultaneously in Austin (US) and Porto (Portugal).
I attended the European venue to meet with many interesting people, representing not only Porto, Coimbra and Lisbon (Portugal), but also Austin and New York (US), Barcelona, Madrid and Vigo (Spain), Edinburgh and London (UK), Aachen, Hamburg and Berlin (Germany), Paris (France), Torino and Milano (Italy), Istanbul (Turkey) and Islamabad (Pakistan).
Some interesting ideas came up in the discussion panels, but I would like to highlight one in particular:
Startups are born global and establish multiple locations very early. It is common to hear that some locations are better than others, and the European startup scene is obviously growing in many cities, in many countries. So what is the best city to grow your startup in? It looks like the right answer is ‘several’. Get yourself located in London if you want to hustle the market. Go to Berlin to join a vibrant community or a top class accelerator. Establish yourself in Porto to find better and cheaper talent. And keep the home town base where you started to make the most of your deeper local knowledge and uphold a competitive advantage. If startups are about innovation, let me tell you that some established companies should take a look at how the startups are taking advantage of internet communications and low cost travel to establish a competitive global approach.
If you’re looking to organise a local entrepreneurship programme in your city, and would consider an established programme and joining a global network, 3DS is looking to expand in Europe.
Speaking of events, do you have your ticket yet for the upcoming EU-Startups Summit?