2 The TEP Times | Fall 2014 BERLIN / NYC
2 The TEP Times | Fall 2014 BERLIN / NYC
The Opportunity for Transatlantic Partnerships and International Collaboration
BY ASHLEY CLARK
The face of entrepreneurship is rapidly changing across the world . Increased digital connectivity means that entrepreneurs now have more tools to turn their dreams and ideas into reality , and geography is no longer a limiting factor in business growth . However , despite international expansion being a necessity for ventures to grow , legal and cultural boundaries remain . Cities can overcome these boundaries by teaming up to increase economic benefits . The Transatlantic Entrepreneur Partnership ( TEP ) is one model to facilitate cooperation between global cities like Berlin and New York City in the area of tech , media , and entrepreneurship .
Why NYC and Berlin ?
New York City and Berlin are both hubs of digital technology ; each has been working to foster a startup culture and has city initiatives to encourage entrepreneurs to pursue their ventures within the city . New York City has its “ Silicon Alley ” which is steadily growing and may eventually reach the same scale as Silicon Valley . At the same time , Berlin is hailed as the creative center of Germany and is home to a growing number of startups and incubator programs aimed at fostering new business ideas . Both cities have strengths which can work symbiotically . Berlin ’ s comparatively low cost of living and access to Central Eastern Europe ’ s markets and talents , when combined with New York City ’ s large consumer market and access to capital can come together to create the perfect partnership .
Why a Partnership ?
In today ’ s fast-paced world a startup can go from having millions of dollars in capital , to crashing and disappearing in the matter of a few months , so it is important that cities provide the support for longterm success . International expansion is a must for many companies that wish to remain globally competitive .
A partnership presents some challenges , but according to a New York International-supported study the many opportunities outweigh the challenges by far . If each city can learn from oneanother ’ s mistakes and triumphs both will benefit and it will enable a faster trajectory into the future of entrepreneurship . City incentives for startups , fostering a creative talent pool , transparency in the digital ecosystem , systematic network building , serial entrepreneurship - these are all areas in which the cities can learn from each other . It is less about financial incentives , but rather supporting the crucial business setup in the first months .
Berlin startups are often globally minded from the beginning . Once successful in Berlin , the next step is often to look toward expansion in the US – and what better place than New York City ?
NYC has worked very hard to become a welcoming place for international startups . “ The next big thing ” can be a city that is open for international businesses – not only facilitating access to investors for money and the American consumer for scale , but also teaching entrepreneurs how to fail fast and cheap .
Facilitating a Partnership
Photo credit : Tobias Everke
Busso von Alvensleben , German Consul General addresses attendees at the TEP conference 2013 , December 4th .
The main challenges and opportunities in a partnership are the issues of : fast business setup , immigration , and enabling political decision makers to come up with smart policies for entrepreneurs . City politics can have a huge effect on how easy or hard it is for international startups to establish themselves and grow . Both cities struggle with federal regulations that do not support the particular needs of digital ventures . The 2013 TEP conference saw Berlin ’ s senator for economic development , and the president of the NYC Economic Development Corporation come together to address this topic , and this year it will take a deeper dive into the topic of investing , innovating , and collaborating in global hubs .
“ Berlin and New York provide unique opportunities ”
Interview with Dr . Stefan Franzke , Managing Director of Berlin Partner
Dr . Stefan Franzke helms Berlin Partner , an organization that provides business and technology support for companies , investors , and scientific institutions in Berlin . Berlin Partner enables growth in Berlin and supports investors with customized services and a wide range of programs by helping companies launch , innovate , expand and secure their economic future in Berlin . We talked with Dr . Franzke about why he believes in collaboration between New York City and Berlin , and what he hopes will be achieved to strengthen that collaboration during this conference .
Why should New York and Berlin collaborate ? New York City and Berlin are two cities where cross-Atlantic entrepreneurial collaboration just makes a lot of sense . Berlin and New York provide unique opportunities and each city has a distinctive potential that perfectly complements the other . Berlin has international culture , an outstanding quality of life and a deep pool of talented , well-educated people . New York is the # 1 place in the US for applied tech and consumer innovation , with a highly developed startup ecosystem . The collaboration between both cities helps US companies expand in Europe on one hand and furthermore assists Berlin-based companies with their market entry in the US . Berlin startups can benefit from tapping into that ecosystem and New York can profit from the thriving startup entrepreneurs in Berlin .
How have you seen this collaboration work in practice ?
The New York City Economic Develop ment Corporation invited both Berlin Partner and Berlin startups to their “ World to NYC ” international program . During their visit , Berlin startups received an invaluable introduction on how to do business in New York City . This was of tremendous value for the companies . After this experience , Berlin Partner decided to offer a similar program in Berlin in order to strengthen relationships on a long-term basis .
What is the goal for your visit this time ? We will focus on three goals : provide Berlin startups with concrete plans for US expansion , access to relevant networks , and advice on how to implement their plans . We also hope to represent Berlin as a great place for doing business . And we want to continue our talks with New York City officials on initiatives that enable companies in both cities to expand faster and cheaper across the Atlantic .
How do you measure success ? We use three parameters . First , to what extent are Berlin companies more successful because of our initiatives ? Second , to what extent are we able to tell the great story of living and doing business in Berlin and attract companies to the city ? Lastly , what do we have to do today to be better positioned as a city in the future ? When this works well , we can replicate the framework of the New York / Berlin collaboration and the collaboration between TEP and its partners to export it to other cities and stakeholders .
Berlin and New York provide unique opportunities and each city has a distinctive potential that perfectly complements the other .
Dr . Stefan Franzke , Managing Director of Berlin Partner