Go West?

Posted on 17. Apr, 2009 by Alastair in Huddle Life

Right, rather than launching into a particularly bad rendition of the Pet Shop Boys, I thought today I would muse on a particular thorny issue for Huddle and many of our peers on the UK’s early stage tech scene.

Should we stay British or relocate to the Valley?

If yes, when?  Is this a sign of giving in and admitting that you have to be in the Valley to be successful in this space?

If not, will we be able to build a big enough business ‘just’ in Europe and get the exit the investors want?

It must be nice being Michael Birch and waking up to this every morning...

It must be nice being Michael Birch and waking up to this every morning...

After all the Bay Area has a massive amount going for it. The weather, the scenery, the lifestyle. And then you talk about the market. 10x (at least) the number of investors as Europe – in one place.  1 million early adopters within 50 miles of San Francisco alone. You can build a massive business without ever leaving Highway 101.

But then you’ve got the flip side of the argument: Skype, Bebo, Last.FM for starters (but weren’t they all  bought by US companies?).  And East Coast (New York and Boston) is actually better for sales and B2B, particularly SaaS. Just as Moo who are setting up shop in Rhode Island.  Being in Europe also means you can sell both West and into the massive Eastern markets – so why go to the US where the competition is so big?  And if  Huddle is a Collaboration Software company, we could and should be located anywhere, right?

So what’s the right answer? Well I guess we’ll let you know how it goes. Huddle and a host of the best companies in the UK are all considering a move West to find out for themselves. We’ve already got an office in Chicago and are planning on setting up in San Francisco after the summer.  So are Renate from Poken (already there), ViaPost, Zenzify, MindCandy and many more.

What do you think? Answers on a postcard to the usual address…

Tags: , ,

7 Responses to “Go West?”

  1. bob

    17. Apr, 2009

    Michael Birch can keep the Golden Gate. I used to walk over this every morning to work http://london-photo.esem.sk/london-photo.php?photo=tower-bridge-night

  2. sticky

    17. Apr, 2009

    If your servers were US based I’m not sure our company would be using Huddle. Can’t the federal governemnt access US servers?

  3. Gabe da Silveira

    17. Apr, 2009

    What’s so great about the Silicon Valley lifestyle? Work 16 hour days and then spend 2 hours driving home on the 101? Is there any place in the world other than California where they refer to a freeway using a definite article?

  4. Mark Sutherland

    17. Apr, 2009

    Yes, the UK. For example, “the M8″ or “the A71″. Maybe we’re not so different after all.

  5. Matt

    01. May, 2009

    I think we’re in a good position being in The Greatest City In The World. We have easy access to the American market *and* the European market. Moving to the states would up our penetration of that market but it’s a much more crowded market. If companies like SAP and SAGE can compete worldwide from Europe why can’t Huddle?

  6. Kenneth Millar

    21. May, 2009

    Having worked for a UK startup trying to break through in the US market your blog hit a note with me. The startup in question, Atlantech Technologies in Glasgow was acquired by Cisco in 2000. This seems to be almost an inevitable conclusion for a number of statups. Is acquisition an acceptable outcome for yourselves? Either way I believe that having a presence in “the Valley” is essential. However moving your development there is not probably a great idea. I look forward to hearing about your progress and experiences. If you would like to hear more about the experiences of myself and some of my peers in dealing with the California experience then feel free to get in touch. I wish you good luck!! Great to see UK startups in this sector doing well.

  7. jeff

    10. Jun, 2009

    I work for a local government in the US, and we had to rule out Huddle because it wasn’t based in the US. Perhaps this isn’t the best reason but I think you will find if you are targeting the US federal, state, and local government you are going to at least have representation in the states (sales office) and US based servers.

Leave a Reply