The frenzy surrounding Facebook’s IPO shows the firm grip the thriving tech scene has on public consciousness. The IPO disappointed investors and Facebook is a few billion off its May 18 valuation. Let’s not forget however, that this is an eight-year-old company that is closing in on 1 billion users and employs a staff of 3,700.
Pinterest, the social scrapbooking site, launched just over a year ago, managed to raise $100 million and has a $1.5 billion valuation. Tech tadpoles can become tech titans at astoundingly fast rates, and a wildly successful start-up can evolve into a major employer and revenue-generator.
Today’s start-ups are finding their legs in more eastern places than California’s Silicon Valley. According to an article
in The Wall Street Journal on 10 May, the US’ fastest-growing hub for internet and mobile tech is New York City – Silicon Valley meets Silicon Alley. And on the other side of the Atlantic, London’s Tech City is home to the largest concentration of fast-growing digital technology companies in Europe.
Nestled within the East London blocks adjacent to the new 2012 Olympic stadium, companies like Tweetdeck, the highly-popular social media browser, and Songkick, the largest global database of concerts in the world, call Tech City home. And with active support from major global technology companies like Cisco, Intel and Google, East London has cemented its reputation as a globally-renowned technology hub.
London’s Tech City has opportunities for companies of every shape and size, from budding entrepreneurs in technology incubators around the East End areas of Old Street and Shoreditch to major facilities in the Olympics Park available post-2012. For start-ups, Tech City offers access to the largest venture capital scene in Europe and the presence of like-minded innovators.
In fact, London has the highest concentration of creative firms in any city or region in the world. It’s no wonder that London is home to an established and growing community of networking groups including TechHub, Developer’s Garage, Hoxton Mixer and TechMeetUp. Tech City is also the prime location in Europe to make contacts for every step of the venture, including promotion – two thirds of international advertising agencies have designated London as their European headquarters.
Technology as the new frontier isn’t a new idea, but in the past decade, we’ve seen tech permeate nearly every aspect of our professional and personal lives at an unprecedented rate. The number of people who reach for their BlackBerrys, iPhones, and Droids before their feet hit the floor in the morning has skyrocketed, and the demand for innovative technology is only growing.
If you’re wondering which direction you should look for the next big thing in tech, the smart money says look east (London).