Turing Festival 2013: Startup Adventures in America and Scotland
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Startup Adventures in America and Scotland
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I was really happy to be asked to share some of my experience at the 2013 Turing Festival. My talk discussed the differences between starting up in America and Scotland and whether location matters when starting a company.
Transcript of Turing Festival 2013: Startup Adventures in America and Scotland
Startup Adventures in America and Scotland
My name is John Peebles.
Edinburgh is the first amazing place I’ve ever
lived.Changsha, ChinaTaichung, TaiwanTianjin, ChinaUpland, Indiana
Rockford, IllinoisChicago, Illinois*Fort Lauderdale
You can start and grow an incredible company
anywhere.
“I talk to lots of people who come looking for the Silicon Valley experience…they head south on the 101, hoping to see it, this place they’ve heard about…And it’s freeways, and it’s office parks, and it’s strip malls, and it looks like every place they’ve ever been, and they end up wondering, where have they come, why did they come here?”
- Po Bronson, Wired Magazinefrom the 1998 documentary Code Rush
• Fort Lauderdale based• B2B, SaaS, Healthcare Technology Startup• Founded in 2006• ~$4 million in raised from individual
angels• Over 5 Years:– 120+ employees– Over $25 million in revenue– Over 100 hospitals, over 200 pharmacies,
more than 20 million patients
• Edinburgh based• B2B, SaaS, Educational Technology Startup• Founded in 2010, out to market in 2011• £1.4 million raised from Scottish angel
syndicate• 7 employees, 130+ customers serving
1.4+ million students across 5 continents• Tripled monthly recurring revenue since
July of 2012, growing very quickly
Forget Silicon Valley
Starting up today
is so easycompared to even 5
years ago.
Starting Up at the End of the World
PROS• Big fish in a small
pond• Higher retention• Lower costs• Investor patience• Scrappiness
CONS• Less access to
“easy money”• Talent may be
harder to access
• Fantastic, inspirational cities• Great education and university system• Low student debt• National Insurance, a real Safety Net• Cheaper to live, cheaper wages, cheaper
space• Easy to get to major markets• The Scottish brand• Better tax structures for entrepreneurs• Local investment community, plus London• “Remote” employees aren’t very remote• Better Work/Life balance• Great hacker community
Running a Company in Scotland
You Will Need to AdaptForget Investment. First invest yourself.Forget B2C. Unless you can demonstrate significant traction.Forget “Startup Life”. It’s a myth anyway.Build Your Community. People need role models, honesty, support, encouragement.
Just Do It.
Location doesn’t matter.
We’re in an amazing location!
