Feb 17, 2021 · 41m · we-live-to-build
The Hidden 95%: Why the EU Is Still an Untapped Market
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of We Live to Build, host Sean Weisbrot speaks with Streams.live COO Mike Dragan about unlocking the European Union's untapped market potential, navigating cross-border venture capital, and the future of interactive livestream commerce.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Sean holds 30.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Sean as informed peer 4.4 Guest teaching 3.9 Guest disagreement 1.7 Sean pushing back 2.1
speaking balance: gold is Sean, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 29:53 Guest rejects short-term agile framing
The guest directly counters the host's premise that one-month planning intervals are optimal, citing centuries of computer science history to argue that transformative products require long-term vision rather than monthly incrementalism.
Hardest push from Sean ▶ 31:01 Host challenges navigation metaphor with 'walking blind' analogyThe host refuses the guest's walking metaphor, countering that entrepreneurship is effectively navigating blind where sudden obstacles require immediate, flexible tactical reactions.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 6:00 Guest explains cross-border commercial barriers in the EUThe guest educates the host on the unseen cultural and linguistic friction in Europe, explaining why having a single currency does not enable seamless interstate commerce like in the US.
Sean holds their own ▶ 15:55 Host details Chinese state venture funding modelThe host demonstrates deep international expertise by contrasting China's provincial five-year plan startup funding mechanism with traditional American private LP structures.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Sean as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Sean pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introducing Streams.live and European VC Fundraising | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | The host asks about fundraising differences between the EU and the US, sharing his personal experience bootstrapping and being dismissed by VCs. The guest explains why VCs prefer co-investing and prior institutional vetting. | |
| Challenges of Incorporating and Doing Business Across the EU | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | The guest provides an in-depth breakdown of incorporating across EU member states, noting language, cultural fragmentation, and tax disparities. The host asks probing questions about cross-border operations and banking friction. | |
| The Untapped 95% and the European Investment Fund | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | The host challenges whether building an EU company is even worth the effort given cross-border friction. The guest reframes the issue by introducing the concept of the untapped 95% market potential and the role of the European Investment Fund. | |
| Global Economic Models: Comparing the US, EU, and China | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | The host delivers a detailed comparative analysis of Chinese state-backed industrial planning versus US private venture capital. The guest responds by evaluating socialist roots, European historical baggage, and the strengths of US individualism. | |
| Unlocking European Capital and Remote Business Operations | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | The host inquires about target investment verticals, IP protection, old European family wealth, and remote company operations. The guest explains that European investors prioritize profit metrics over raw top-line growth compared to US investors. | |
| Bootstrapping vs. Venture Capital and Long-Term Vision | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | A spirited debate arises regarding bootstrapping versus taking venture capital. The host defends rapid one-month iterative pivots and blind agility, while the guest argues that deep innovation requires multi-year vision and venture scale. | |
| Building in Austin and Implementing Real-Time WebRTC | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | The host and guest discuss the entrepreneurial appeal and cultural diversity of Austin, Texas. The guest then explains real-time communications architecture with WebRTC and dismisses near-term external holograms in favor of neural sensory stimulation. | |
| The Future of E-Commerce, Virtual Try-Ons, and Livestream Shopping | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | The conversation turns to the future of retail, covering the collapse of legacy department stores, smart glasses, blockchain provenance, and AI-powered virtual try-on software using generative networks. | |
| Episode Conclusion and Where to Connect | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | The host wraps up the episode with standard housekeeping, thanking the guest and sharing contact links and podcast review reminders. |
Statements from this episode (14)
Dragan: Raising Venture Capital in Europe Is Far Easier Than in 2016
“It's been quite easy To raise funds a lot easier than it was, let's say five years ago. There's many more funds that are active in, in Europe and are actively looking for cool investments.”
Dragan: Expanding from UK to US is easier than France to Germany
“It's a lot easier to start a company in the UK and then start doing business in the US or Australia or New Zealand, because there are very similar cultures. Whereas if you're starting a company in France, for example, you, you're basically looking to develop T…”
Dragan: Cross-border EU sales struggle because buyers favor local companies
“You can actually sell if you're in, in Spain to Germany. The whole problem is that probably people, people, People won't buy from you. So you can sell, but there are not many buyers. So people still tend to buy local and authorities tend to favor local compani…”
Dragan: 95% of potential cross-border EU transactions remain untapped
“This whole types of transactions that are not happening at the moment, which I would say we're doing about five percent of what's possible in the European Union at the moment. So the other 95% in terms of transactions between countries is something that I woul…”
Dragan: European Cross-Border Business Will Vastly Improve Within 20 Years
“I would expect it to be somewhere between 10 to 20 years. Basically you have all the generations that were not used to the concept of the European Union and trading in between countries that are pretty much still managing the commercial routes and commercial d…”
Dragan: EIF Subsidies Will Connect Europe Better Than Past Infrastructure Projects
“The European Investment Fund, which is kind of like central investment institutional Fund has been pushing a lot of money in terms of collateral for VC firms with the goal to invest in small and mid-sized startup tech companies, which means that they're basica…”
Dragan: The US is humanity's greatest social structure achievement
“I still think the U.S. Is the greatest achievement in terms of social structure humans have ever built, just because it is so individual-based.”
Dragan: Inflation and Tech Are Unlocking Old European Family Wealth
“Most of the wealth in Europe, in terms of private wealth is still tied to pretty old families that have
Kept the wealth blocked and not really moving.
And they're tending to change this perspective as, you know, both inflation, given the outcome of COVID seems…”
Dragan: European VCs Focus on Profit While US VCs Target Future Scale
“The key difference is between the U.S. And European-based investment is that the U.S. Is looking at large volumes and potential outcome in the future, whereas the European investment strategy is more based towards profit.”
Dragan: Holographic communication will not exist within the next 50 years
“I would say we're not gonna have holograms within the next 50 years.”
Dragan: Direct brain-stimulated AR holograms will arrive within 10 years
“We're probably gonna have something in terms of augmented reality that would be probably directly brain-stimulated. So, instead of having holograms the way we're imagining them, Right now, like, you have a device in front of you, and Princess Leia appears, and…”
Dragan: Technology will shift to carbon-based molecular biology within a decade
“And I think a lot of the ways that we're thinking about the world right now in terms of technology is going to shift in the next 10 years or so through molecular biology. So it's going to be less silicon based technology and more carbon based technologies. We'…”
Dragan: Google Glass failed from poor technology and aesthetics, not privacy
“I think Google Glasses failed not because of Privacy issues, but because the technology sucked and it made you look weird.”
Dragan: GANs will enable virtual try-ons superior to physical shopping
“In the future, given this these new types of generative adversarial networks, you're gonna be able to see yourself wearing Anything, having any kind of hairstyle, and it's gonna look realistic and in real, real life. So you, you're actually gonna try on stuff …”