The Next Web

Going Solo: Tech freelancers gather in Switzerland next month

Written on May 2, 2008 – 3:43 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

The Next Web Blog covers start-up news from all over the world (not just the Valley), exciting new technologies and inspiring entrepreneurs. If you're new here, you may want to read our 'About' page and subscribe to our RSS feed.

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I don’t know about your countries’ society, yet I think you might notice the same development: more people start their own business. Several factors stimulate tech and new media professionals to quit their jobs and start an entrepreneurial adventure, some examples:

personal branding has never been easier, just start a blog and work on your social media magic.
hobbies get out of hand. When Dutch marketing consultant Marco Derksen started his blog Marketingfacts, he probably didn’t realize it would turn into a business. I’m sure you can name an example from your own country.
the start-up culture sparks up a fire. Pioneers like Kevin Rose inspire thousands of young ambitious guys.
You don’t have to be ashamed. Being an entrepreneur wasn’t really prestigious. Yet now universities and schools stimulate their students to start a business after they’ve graduated.

From my personal experience I can tell that being a freelancer isn’t always easy, especially in the beginning. What should I charge? How do I plan my days? Where can I find like-minded people? (on blogs!)

Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten, Stowe Boyd and Ernst-Jan Pfauth

Co-editor Boris, Stowe Boyd & yours truly

That’s why The Next Web partnered up with Going Solo, a one-day educational conference for freelancers and small-business owners in the media, tech, design, and publishing industries. It will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland on May 16th. Organizer Stephanie Booth told me she means to inspire as well as educate the entrepreneurial crowd. Confirmed speakers include Stowe - the man with the Kangoo hat - Boyd, social media consultant Suw Charman-Anderson, and presentations consultant Laura Fitton.

So if you’ve started a business of your own - or planning on it - you might consider traveling to Lausanne. If you do so, have a look at Stephanie’s discount offer and drop me a line - as I’ll be there as well.

conference, freelance, freelancers, goingsolo, Lausanne, Switzerland

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Will a Nokia research center suck up all the Swiss talent?

Written on April 8, 2008 – 5:56 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

In a discussion on TechCrunch about where Europe’s own Silicon Valley would emerge, some interesting suggestions were made (warning: many links to specific comments follow). From Moscow to Lisbon and from Estonia to London.
The latter was the most mentioned location, followed by Finland and Switzerland. Finland has an USP that is their biggest pro and con at the same time: Nokia. On the one hand, it’s THE European tech company, on the other: it sucks up all the talent.

Switzerland would be a fair option, since it’s an innovative country and home of some important venture capitalists like Index Ventures. Yet a new development makes the question even more complicated: Nokia has just announced that it would establish a research center in Lausanne. It will be a joint lab with two Swiss federal institutes of technology. It will open its doors in June.

According to All About Symbian, the research agenda will focus on persuasive communications:

Exploring new interaction experiences and technologies utilizing all the human senses;

Services and applications based on the user’s context, such as location, and personal preferences, e.g.,
information provided by sensors within a mobile device or in the surrounding world;

Internet services and technologies - enriching the Internet experience on mobile devices.

Nokia’s Chief Technology Officer Bob Iannucci said to Reuters that Nokia ’sees the fusing of the digital and physical worlds as a key objective in mobility.’

So, will this cause some sort of local brain drain? Kai Lemmetty from Floobs told me during The Next Conference that this is the case in Finland. Nokia just picks out the talent and makes them an offer they can’t refuse. As you can imagine, this is deadly for local start-up action. And a good start-up atmosphere is one of the most important conditions for a Silicon Valley-like area. So all you European start-up experts, please lend me your thought on this matter.