{"id":655035,"date":"2025-02-28T23:31:32","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T20:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook\/"},"modified":"2025-02-28T23:31:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T20:31:32","slug":"europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook\/","title":{"rendered":"#Europe doesn\u2019t have to copy the Silicon Valley playbook"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ce1c5b91e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a36ce1c5b91e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook\/#From_Amsterdam_to_the_world\" >From Amsterdam to the world<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook\/#DataSnippers_talent_pipeline\" >DataSnipper\u2019s talent pipeline<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/europe-doesnt-have-to-copy-the-silicon-valley-playbook\/#Europes_pros_and_cons\" >Europe\u2019s pros and cons<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For decades, European tech insiders have looked across the Atlantic with a mix of admiration and frustration. Casting envious eyes on the deep-pocketed VCs, an enormous consumer market, and a pipeline of elite talent,\u00a0they often view the US as a promised land for business growth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sentiment fuels calls for Europe to replicate Silicon Valley\u2019s model. But Vidya Peters, CEO of Dutch unicorn DataSnipper, argues this <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach is flawed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than merely mimicking US tech, she urges startups and scaleups to embrace Europe\u2019s strengths. A key one is sustainable, long-term growth.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFive years ago, it wasn\u2019t very fashionable to be profitable,\u201d Peters tells TNW. \u201cBut I think this is where the European sensibility is a strength, because European companies have always taken this approach, and now it\u2019s hugely valued in the current economic climate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/tnw.events\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The \ud83d\udc9c of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This sharply contrasts with Silicon Valley\u2019s growth-at-all-costs mentality. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">European businesses are already benefiting from this distinct approach.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cW<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hen you watch some of these companies come out, they are much more durable in their growth and competitive advantage,\u201d Peters says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DataSnipper is a prime example. The company was profitable early on, scaled rapidly, and recently hit a $1bn valuation. Ahead of her headline talk at <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TNW Conference<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in June, Peters shared a few secrets behind the company\u2019s success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One is based on another European trademark: <span id=\"urn:enhancement-c7f22d3d-bdd2-4d1c-93b2-9ffaffe4ebb5\" class=\"textannotation disambiguated wl-thing\" itemid=\"https:\/\/data.thenextweb.com\/tnw\/entity\/data\">data protection<\/span>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Privacy and security are integral features of DataSnipper\u2019s core product, an AI-powered platform that automates repetitive finance and audit procedures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s been super important to our customers that we\u2019re not training on their documents and data \u2014 and that\u2019s been a central piece of how we built our AI products,\u201d Peters says. \u201cWe review and look at their data to provide insights, but that data is theirs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company must also abide by the EU\u2019s stringent data laws. Critics argue that these rules stifle innovation, but Peters points to the advantages.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cEurope really has the opportunity to lead in this space by balancing innovation with customer data protection,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By embedding safety and transparency into AI, she continues, startups and scaleups can carve out a competitive edge over US rivals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDoing it from a base of trust can help European companies win customers in a different way than their American counterparts can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DataSnipper also has roots in another European hallmark<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: a bar in Amsterdam.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"From_Amsterdam_to_the_world\"><\/span>From Amsterdam to the world<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2017,\u00a0Maarten Alblas and Jonas Ruyter\u00a0were having a beer. Joining them was a friend who worked in auditing for KPMG. He faced a common affliction in his profession: an enormous spreadsheet that required painstaking scrutiny. He had to search through the document for invoices, bank statements, and receipts \u2014 all the while cross-checking the data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alblas and Ruyter believed software could ease his suffering. They settled on a solution: an intelligent automation platform that would dramatically increase the quality and efficiency of common audit procedures. The idea led to the founding of DataSnipper.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their software proved a hit with auditors. Soon, their user base had spread from the Netherlands to the UK and Germany. After finding success in Europe, they targeted new markets beyond the continent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To further fuel the growth, the company appointed Vidya Peters as CEO in 2023. She joined with expertise honed in Silicon Valley, most recently as Chief Marketing Officer of MuleSoft. During her time at the software giant, the company went public on the NYSE before being acquired by Salesforce for $6.5bn.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She later gained extensive experience of Europe\u2019s tech landscape. In 2019, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Marqeta, a payment processing firm. Again, she helped her company go public. In 2022, Marqeta made its market debut on the Nasdaq. The company ended the day with a market cap of over $16bn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At DataSnipper, she set her sights on accelerating growth and global expansion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The strategy has reaped rewards. In 2024, Deloitte named DataSnipper the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.deloitte.com\/nl\/en\/about\/press-room\/datasnipper-wint-jubileumeditie-deloitte-technology-fast-50-2024.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fastest-growing tech company<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Netherlands for the second year in a row. Last month, the business reached the coveted unicorn status after raising $100mn at a $1bn valuation. Over 500,000 audit and finance professionals across more than 125 countries now use the software.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As DataSnipper scaled, the company benefited from another European advantage: access to international talent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"DataSnippers_talent_pipeline\"><\/span>DataSnipper\u2019s talent pipeline<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPeople undervalue the ability to hire from across the world here,\u201d says Peters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DataSnipper has directly benefited from this access. From the Netherlands, the company can hire global talent on a visa with greater ease than in the US. Peters describes this as \u201ca secret weapon\u201d for European startups and scaleups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt is much easier to do so with the visa opportunities that you have in Europe, the ability to issue work visas is significantly easier in Europe than it is in the US.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A diverse range of people now work for DataSnipper. In <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the company\u2019s Amsterdam headquarters, 70% of employees are from outside the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat\u2019s incredibly valuable because we have every language that you could possibly want to sell in Europe, and you can attract them right here to Amsterdam,\u201d says Peters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DataSnipper\u2019s global outlook has been instrumental in its expansion. After establishing itself in Europe, DataSnipper opened offices in New York, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Mexico City.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite its global expansion, DataSnipper remains firmly rooted in the Netherlands. One of the country\u2019s many attractions is a simple matter of time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cPeople forget that America is not the heart of the world,\u201d says Peters. \u201cYou can wake up in Europe and sell to Asia Pacific. And after your lunch, you can sell to the US.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Europes_pros_and_cons\"><\/span>Europe\u2019s pros and cons<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite the advantages of life in Europe, startups here still face substantial challenges. One is the diverging regulations, tax laws, and banking systems, which present roadblocks to growth across the continent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019re not taking full advantage of being part of one European Union and allowing companies to expand within the continent,\u201d Peters says. \u201cIt would be tremendously beneficial if we could open locations within Europe, just like you would in the US, in a different state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funding is another hurdle. European VCs tend to be more risk-averse, making capital harder to secure. \u201cWe had conversations with probably every major venture capital firm in the US \u2014 they were pounding on our door,\u201d says Peters. \u201cYet the European VCs were not reaching out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For DataSnipper, that wasn\u2019t a big problem. The US firms alone had produced an\u00a0oversubscribed round. Nonetheless, Peters was surprised: where were the European investors? With curious timing, they started reaching out after the funding was announced.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWas it the risk appetite?\u201d Peters wonders. \u201cWhat was it that made them a little bit more cautious?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are common questions in European tech. But startups and scaleups don\u2019t need to wait for the answers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peters advises them to think beyond borders. \u201cDon\u2019t be limited to the country you are in or to Europe,\u201d she says. \u201cReach out to VCs all over the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When that happens, Peters hopes that Europe\u2019s investment landscape will shift to a braver funding model. But even if it doesn\u2019t, companies across the continent can forge their own paths to success.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\" class=\"c-richText c-richText--large\">\n<p><i><span>Vidya Peters will provide further insights at\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span>TNW Conference<\/span><\/i><i><span>, which takes place on June 19-20 in Amsterdam. Tickets for the event are<\/span><\/i><span>\u00a0<\/span><i><span>now on sale<\/span><\/i><i><span>. To get 30% off, use the code TNWX<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MEDIA<\/a>2025 at the check-out.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/datasnipper-ceo-vidya-peters-interview-tnw-conference\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, European tech insiders have looked across the Atlantic with a mix of admiration and frustration. Casting envious eyes on the deep-pocketed VCs, an enormous consumer market, and a pipeline of elite talent,\u00a0they often view the US as a promised land for business growth. The sentiment fuels calls for Europe to replicate Silicon Valley\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":655036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/tnw-blurple?filter_last=1&fit=1280%2C640&url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2025%2F02%2FUntitled-design-17.jpg&signature=0cf468741f32ada219133ecc42adb2c2","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=655035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/655035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/655036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=655035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=655035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=655035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}