May 16, 2006

Innovate!Europe Celebrates Europe as “Innovation Powerhouse”

Opening Innovate!Europe 06, Executive Producer Chris Shipley said this year’s event is a celebration of Europe emerging as a technology innovation powerhouse. Chris said that the past year had been a cultural turning point for entrepreneurship on this side of the Atlantic. A new generation of graduates was emerging from Europe’s universities eager to try their hands at starting and building technology-based businesses. These are Internet children, Innovate!Europe’s founder stressed. The dot.com crash of half a decade ago is ancient history to them. And they have little time for previous cultural sniffyness in some European regions about creating your own business. Chris, who talks in depth to hundreds of innovators each year, reported that she has seen more and better companies launched in Europe over last 12 months than during the past 10 years here. And today’s European innovation hotshots are thinking global from the outset. Chris has found that even though these companies may start their sales locally, their Internet generation founders are acutely aware that they must create products with global opportunities and competitors in mind. At the first Innovate!Europe last year we met to explore and discuss how innovation could be boosted here, Chris said. Eleven months later she’s delighted to present over 30 companies that are driving the innovation revolution in Europe.

Posted by Philip Gallagher at May 16, 2006 05:16 AM