5 Reasons why Amsterdam will be the next ‘Silicon Valley’ post crisis
Amsterdam is the vibrant capital of the Netherlands known for it’s windmills, scenic canals, vibrant night life as well as its ever-booming start-up scene. Often referred to as the ‘Silicon Canals’, Amsterdam is increasingly becoming the hub for many young and talented entrepreneurs. According to a ranking conducted by EU-Startups.com, Amsterdam ranked the 4th most active start-up hub in Europe. The reason for this surely goes beyond the system that connects innovators with each other. There is a genuine interest in coming up with creative solutions to problems that is so intoxicatingly forward-thinking and resilient — traits unique to Amsterdam.
1. Central Hub of Europe
Amsterdam is located a couple of hours away from several key countries such a Germany, France and Belgium. Traveling with public transport as well as car makes it easy to reach other cities giving your start-up the possibility to expand to different parts of Europe and beyond. Furthermore Amsterdam Schiphol is Europe’s 3rd and the world’s 11th busiest airport. In 2017 alone, Schiphol welcomed 68 million passengers and 496,748 aircraft movements.
2. Start-up Visa System
If you are an entrepreneur with an idea you want to bring to life, moving to Amsterdam can be quite easy if you are qualified for the start-up visa. This allows ambitious visionaries outside the EU, EEA or Switzerland to apply for a (temporary) residence permit for the Netherlands. This will give you one year to get your idea off of the ground. What makes the start-up visa great is during that year, you will be working with a facilitator or a mentor to help make sure your idea will blossom into something bigger than just a vision. As of May 2020, the cost for the application for this visa is € 333.
3. Ease of Registering a Business
Once your start-up becomes a scale-up (after possibly receiving some external funding from relevant sources or through self-funding), you can officially register your business at the Dutch Chamber of Commerce also known as Kamer van Koophandel or KvK. Depending on your business model you will have several legal entities to choose from when registering ranging from sole trader, general partnership, professional or limited partnership, private or public limited company, cooperative, association or foundation. In most cases all you have to do is confirm an appointment online via kvk.nl, fill in the necessary documents beforehand, have your passport ready along with your business address and citizenship number. All applications at the KvK cost € 50 except for the legal entities (such as private limited company and foundation) that need the service of an official notary. As a frame of reference, when I applied for my sole trader business back in January 2020, the whole process took less than one hour.
4. Accessibility to High-Profile Investors
Since the past few years, the number of angel investors in the Netherlands has been increasing. There are a number of important investors to mention who could act as your mentor or invest in your company. For example, the co-founder of Booking.com, Arthur Kosten has invested in companies such as Catawiki, Healthecare.com, 3D Hubs, and more. Martijn Rozendaal is known for his role as co-founder of Just Eat and Treatwell. He is currently active under Finneir Capital, an investment vehicle focussing on seed and pre-series A investments in healthcare technology startups. Last but not least, there are start-up accelerators such as Antler.co that successfully select and match companies with long and short-term investors.
5. Growing Start-up and Tech Events
When it comes to starting a business, it’s not about what you now but who you know. Luckily Amsterdam offers such an array of events for entrepreneurs that you’ll always be one seat away from meeting someone like-minded. The great thing is that during these times most of these events continue to happen online via popular conference tools such as Zoom. For a full overview of all the events scheduled, click here.
Are you planning on moving to Amsterdam to start and scale your company? Let me know down in the comments which industries your start-up is making an impact on!
Gulce Onganer is an architectural designer turned digital marketer, currently working as a Marketing Associate at Venture Cafe Rotterdam; a non-profit that organises weekly events to connect innovators to make things happen. Now also a YouTuber with her channel ‘Making it in Holland’, she explores the expat life and entrepreneurial scene in the Netherlands. To ask any specific questions you can get in touch via onganergulce@gmail.com.
