How cities can become startup hotspots (p.1) Conditions that are necessary for a lively startup community

When it comes to the hotspots of the startup scene, most think of Silicon Valley, London and Berlin or Paris and Stockholm. And that´s it pretty much. However, it is often forgotten that every city can basically develop a lively start-up community — and the ingredients for that are not that hard to spot. As one of the founding members of “Gründen@Würzburg”, the initiative for the creation and development of the Würzburg start-up community, and current spokesman for this initiative, I was able to closely follow the developments in Würzburg.

Of course, the community in Würzburg has not the same size and visibility of the community in the start-up hotspot Berlin and is also not to compare with Munich or Hamburg (with regards to major German cities).

Nonetheless, the scene in Würzburg has developed spectacularly since 2014. Even so good that now the city council, the largest regional newspaper and the political parties and other organizations, associations and institutions take note of the community. And regions and cities such as the district of Würzburg or the cities of Bamberg and Schweinfurt closely follow the events surrounding Gründen@Würzburg. How could this happen?

General conditions for a lively start-up community

In the following, I would like to try to explain the conditions that are necessary for a lively start-up community and to explain what already existed in Würzburg and what we have created.

The inclined reader can then check on the basis of my presentation by himself, which conditions are already fulfilled in his or her hometown and what should be developed. Of course I have to point out that this article is a snapshot of the situation after almost four years. We continue to learn at Gründen@Würzburg almost every day and constantly try to improve the conditions for start-ups in Würzburg. Therefore, I cannot rule out that some of my views might change in the near future. But that’s just “startup-like”: “You learn and you adapt.”

The following points are, in my humble opinion, the most important basic conditions that should be in place so that one can even think of developing a start-up community. I open the floor for discussions….

1. Potential for startups

Even if it sounds simple: there must exist a certain potential for founders.

That may be the case simply because these people exist for natural reasons — for example, because the city is just huge. This applies, for example, to London, Paris or New York.

Or maybe there is a specific “attraction” in a city or region that draws potential founders to this particular city or region. In Würzburg I would say these attractions are the universities. There are about 38,000 students in Würzburg who bring with them their ideas and who think about the future and what they can do to shape it.

If there are appropriate compelling reasons, then it is almost impossible that there is no potential for founders.

2. Support offers

Then there must be support for potential founders. Of course, in this context words such as business angels, founders networks or even investors come to mind very quickly. But that’s not what I want to talk about at first — it’s about something much more fundamental.

In Würzburg, we have seen that creating a startup scene does not depend on business angels or investors, but rather on institutions and organizations that help potential founders with their first steps and questions.

There are, for example, the IHK (Chamber of Commerce), the HWK (Chamber of Crafts), the IGZ (Innovation & Business Incubator) and the TGZ (Technology Incubator Unit). Also active are in the public sector the Service Center for Research and Technology Transfer of the start-up consultancy of the University of Applied Sciences as well as various private providers.

Beyond that, potential founders need opportunities to interact with other entrepreneurs in small groups, do research and try things out. These include universities and other educational facilities, maker labs and co-working spaces — all this by the way exists in Würzburg: In addition to privately operated co-working spaces, there are two that are provided by the city of Würzburg (the Maker Lab named “Fab Lab” is operated in the form of an association).

3. Low cost of living, good living conditions in general and the opportunity to settle down

It may seem trivial, but most of the founders eventually consider settling down and maybe starting a family. But then the needs change. In the beginning they care maybe about a lively pub scene and the sports offers – later it is about public transport, construction sites and the quality of the schools. Cities would be wise to look at the current opportunities and see whether they are attractive enough.

In particular, the young entrepreneurs of today are much more mobile than they used to be and they are able find out exactly what cities have to offer. The competition between cities is much stronger than before!

A city can offer the greatest shops in the city center: if a founder cannot afford a flat or a house there and therefore has to move into the surrounding area, but is not able to commute from there into the city in a fast and affordable way, the best offers in the city center are pointless.

A city must offer something to its citizens — and this is especially true with regards to founders who are cosmopolitan and are used to the freedom of travel and mobile working.

Würzburg is an interesting example here. In addition to the compactness of the city center, where you can easily reach everything on foot or bike, there are a variety of villages around Würzburg, from which you can get to the city center relatively quickly by bus and train. Furthermore, rents are still reasonably low and the quality of life is high. The river Main that runs through the city offers plenty of recreational areas. In addition, the city offers large green spaces and a variety of different shops in the city center, as well as a good supply of food and other items for a good living in shops the surrounding area.

4. Cultural offers

Finally, a city must fascinate its citizens. This requires a variety of activities and events that keep citizens happy, engaged and connected with “their” city.

Of course there are cities that are fascinating as such — and they not only fascinate people in Germany but all over the world. These include for example Hamburg, Munich and Berlin (in Germany) as well as London, Miami, Paris, Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney or Vienna. Each of these cities stands for something that is unmistakably connected to this city and also offers a variety of activities to make it even more attractive.

On the other hand, what applies to these cities on a large scale also applies to small cities. Würzburg might not be able to offer world-famous museums or major events that people speak about in every part of the world. Nonetheless, the city offers for example an amazing amount of festivals that are known beyond the city limits, like the “Umsonst & Draußen” or the “Africa Festival”. In addition, concerts and other festivities — for example the many wine festivals or an event called “bridgen” (where people meet on a very specific bridge across the river Main and drink wine — this is so famous that several tourist guides mention it) — contribute to the attractiveness of Würzburg as a potential hotspot for founders and start-ups. And of course a lively pub scene and many places where you meet many people who like to party. I am convinced that without this multitude of offers, Würzburg would not be so attractive four tourists, students and its citizens.

So there you have it — my thoughts on what a region or a city must offer to attract founders and to start a start-up community. In part 2 of this article I will describe what the start-up initiative “Gründen@Würzburg” did in particular, to strengthen the start-up community.