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I saw a list of European unicorns (on HN in fact I think) and probably about 2/3 were UK/London based. That’s right now. The other ones are scattered around, so

I saw a list of European unicorns (on HN in fact I think) and probably about 2/3 were UK/London based. That’s right now. The other ones are scattered around, so this might be your best bet in this part of the world. As another comment says, you’ll mostly get political comments, so here goes: UK universities, while still very good, are dropping quite significantly in various league tables since Brexit. This is for a range of reasons: non-UK applicants now get a full US-style price, with little support or loans. They are less attractive for academics too. 2/3 of UK unis dropped since the Brexit votes, Cambridge is at a historical low of 7th in the world, behind ETH. Student visas are sth like £1000 per year on top of that. If you think this will continue, and talented and driven young people will choose other countries, this will extinguish, in the long term, the supply of talent to startups and tech. UK’s attitude to immigration will also be unpredictable. On the one hand, it states that it is keen to attract talent etc, on the other hand visas will be largely awarded based on salaries (maybe not so good for early stage startups). Also there are no guarantees that eg the partner of a visa taker will be awarded one, or that visas will be extended. This is another reason why people might give the Uk a wide berth - and these would be potentially your cofounders, colleagues, investors. On the flip side, finance was thought to leave London en masse, and didn’t. Banks etc established a presence in EU countries, but most of the business logic staff are actually staying out. Also UK is at heart a country of innovation, where novelty and innovation are welcome, and entrepreneurship runs in the blood, more so than in many other places. Brexit won’t change that. So... who knows? I’m an EU citizen, now also British and well settled here. I like it, but probably wouldn’t choose it now.

raverbashing 6y ago
I think you have the right idea there > I saw a list of European unicorns (on HN in fact I think) and probably about 2/3 were UK/London based While unicorns are an interesting measure (even though it favours the biggest startups - are 2x 500Mi startups "worse than" 1x 1Bi startup?), I always wonder how much of it is some form "language blindness". How much value is on startups or companies that don't get on HN or "don't speak English" much?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- rich_sasha 6y ago
  Agreed, this was the first proxy that came to mind. This is probably quite good for VC funded companies, as there is some transparency in this. But, apart from the arbitrary 1bn cutoff, what is a startup? What about more established, but still innovative companies? What about ones that are not VC funded?
foldr 6y ago
>On the flip side, finance was thought to leave London en masse, and didn’t It's a bit early to say, isn't it? Finance is still working under temporary arrangements. Most of the regulations regarding services remain to be negotiated.
- jonwinstanley 6y ago
  Yes and the actual deal with the EU was only made public yesterday.
- rich_sasha 6y ago
  Banks moved a skeletal staff to EU offices already a long time ago, and no one else. As far as regulated business goes, it was clear from the start pretty much that there will be no passporting. The extent of other regulatory burdens remains unclear. The point is, unless some highly unexpected new regulation comes in, it looks like banks at least kept the business and decision making in London, and only moved enough operational staff to EU to support operations there. Funds for sure seem to have stay put in London, some moved but this is definitely a minority.
  - ben_w 6y ago
    > Funds for sure seem to have stay put in London, some moved but this is definitely a minority. I’ve seen it reported that £1 trillion of assets were being moved out. Was that report incorrect, or was it a misleading number that is somehow vastly less relevant than it appears at first glance? https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/business/brexit-economy-bank-assets/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/business/brexit-economy-b...
    - thr0waway2 6y ago
      Assets != jobs
      - ben_w 6y ago
        Didn’t say they were. Are “funds” not assets? Because that would be another explanation I had not previously considered.

raverbashing 6y ago

I think you have the right idea there > I saw a list of European unicorns (on HN in fact I think) and probably about 2/3 were UK/London based While unicorns are an interesting measure (even though it favours the biggest startups - are 2x 500Mi startups "worse than" 1x 1Bi startup?), I always wonder how much of it is some form "language blindness". How much value is on startups or companies that don't get on HN or "don't speak English" much?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
rich_sasha 6y ago
Agreed, this was the first proxy that came to mind. This is probably quite good for VC funded companies, as there is some transparency in this. But, apart from the arbitrary 1bn cutoff, what is a startup? What about more established, but still innovative companies? What about ones that are not VC funded?

foldr 6y ago

>On the flip side, finance was thought to leave London en masse, and didn’t It's a bit early to say, isn't it? Finance is still working under temporary arrangements. Most of the regulations regarding services remain to be negotiated.

jonwinstanley 6y ago
Yes and the actual deal with the EU was only made public yesterday.
rich_sasha 6y ago
Banks moved a skeletal staff to EU offices already a long time ago, and no one else. As far as regulated business goes, it was clear from the start pretty much that there will be no passporting. The extent of other regulatory burdens remains unclear. The point is, unless some highly unexpected new regulation comes in, it looks like banks at least kept the business and decision making in London, and only moved enough operational staff to EU to support operations there. Funds for sure seem to have stay put in London, some moved but this is definitely a minority.
- ben_w 6y ago
  > Funds for sure seem to have stay put in London, some moved but this is definitely a minority. I’ve seen it reported that £1 trillion of assets were being moved out. Was that report incorrect, or was it a misleading number that is somehow vastly less relevant than it appears at first glance? https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/business/brexit-economy-bank-assets/index.html https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/20/business/brexit-economy-b...
  - thr0waway2 6y ago
    Assets != jobs
    - ben_w 6y ago
      Didn’t say they were. Are “funds” not assets? Because that would be another explanation I had not previously considered.