Michelle You: London founders naturally build for global markets from day one
Michelle You · a16z Podcast | Building Tech Startups in a Place Where Tech Isn’t Everything · Jan 2, 2019 · at 32:23
Michelle You, co-founder of Songkick, compares the global mindset of London-based tech startups to the domestic focus of US founders.
0:00 / 0:20exact quote · 20.3s
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark
“I think in America, I can say it because I'm American, it's really easy to just think that American, America's all there is, because it's dominant force. It's where a lot of, you know, dominant force in culture and technology, and it's easy to just think about the US, but when you're in London, you're forced to think about the rest of Europe as a first step, and then the rest of the world, and I think that comes more naturally to people in a place like London.”
quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →
More from Michelle You
You: Silicon Valley is a cultural wasteland lacking non-tech social variety
“I think the flip side of that is it is like I personally find it to be a cultural wasteland. Anytime I go over there after I'm there for two weeks, I'm craving going to a museum or being able to see that film that just came out or having more variety in my soc…”
You: Advice from big-company executives is usually irrelevant for early-stage startups
“But I think a lot of the problems you face as a startup are inherent to the nature of starting a company and learning how to grow a business. I think the kind of advice you might get from somebody who comes from a big company might not be relevant to you, so t…”
You: London Has More Culture, Fashion, and Music Startups Than Silicon Valley
“And similarly, I think the reason why there's so many culture related startups in London is because that's a very London thing about fashion and, you know, media and music as well. I think there's a lot more startups in London focusing on those problems as opp…”