Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Right company, wrong place: why I moved my startup from Prague to Amsterdam

Right company, wrong place: why I moved my startup from Prague to Amsterdam

This Prague-founded startup didn't find the funding or the momentum it wanted until it moved HQ to Amsterdam. They've never looked back.

Most founders will agree that timing can be everything when it comes to business success. What fewer people talk about is how crucial location can be. Not every business idea is born in the right market. And while you can’t win if your business isn’t born at the right time (I’m looking at you, pre-Google search engines), you can control where you are based.

In April 2013, I accepted Richard Valtr’s offer to join his startup, Mews. We were building a cloud-based property management system to run hotel operations, booking, payments and guest management, and given my decade of experience at various hotels, I thought we had something special on our hands. But for three years, we couldn’t pick up momentum, and it began to grate on the team. We couldn’t raise the money to grow, and we couldn’t grow enough to widen our pool of potential investors.

And so, five years ago, we moved Mews from Prague to Amsterdam — and haven’t looked back. We were just in the wrong location to make our company a success.

Here are my takeaways from moving Mews to the Netherlands, and some food for thought for founders who think they might have the right company in the wrong place.

Our culture clashed with local investors


In 2013, we began the process of raising seed funding for Mews. After three years, we had a couple of term sheets from Czech VCs. However, at that point in time, the Czech market wasn’t ready for the cloud and the level of automation we were working on. Western Europe has long been ahead of Central and Eastern Europe on this front — an issue that leaves many promising startups in the lurch.

Czech VCs were looking for B2C startups that could reach hypergrowth quickly, as opposed to B2B investments such as Mews. Our key focus at the time was to continue building the product. The terms we were offered weren’t agreeable, particularly on minority protection rights.

Most of our customers were based in Prague, but our plan was always to build a global company


The Netherlands has been a far better fit in terms of investors. The country is a haven for cloud and payments companies, so investors know the landscape well and aren’t so laser-focused on revenue in early-stage companies. As the market is quite developed, Dutch VCs are more confident in valuing potential in complex technology.

Our customers called us home


At this point in Mews’ journey, we had around 40 customers and £30k-40k monthly revenue. Most of our customers were based in Prague, but our plan was always to build a global company.

About a third of our customers were located in the Netherlands, and they were our most supportive. As a customer-centric business, it made sense for us to be close to a community that “got” the product and wanted to help us make it even better.

It’s time to lower the barrier to startup success


Moving a startup across borders is painful. It was necessary for us to sell our own intellectual property to our new entity in Amsterdam — but after that, our most important big-budget expense was our lawyers. Attempting to draft your own agreements will waste more time and money than it saves (I’ve tried) — but a legal professional with expertise in tech and intellectual property will make a move easier.

The Western European startup ecosystem should do more to support early-stage tech businesses in underrepresented regions.

The longer you wait to move to a new country, the more complex and costly it becomes


Social media has no borders — and for founders who are considering moving abroad, it’s a great place to test the waters. I’ve been active on LinkedIn throughout my career, and found that it pays to play the long game. By the time Mews actually landed in Amsterdam, I’d made local connections who helped us hit the ground running, pointing us towards potential customers and employees in the Netherlands.

Always look ahead


The longer you wait to move to a new country, the more complex and costly it becomes. With just a few employees and an early iteration of our product, we had little to lose.

Now we’re on to the next stage: talent-first, location-second. That means being a fully distributed company that hires talent anywhere in the world. This year, we committed to becoming a fully distributed, global company. And while location is becoming less important the more we scale, it was key to get it right in our earliest days. I’d challenge more early-stage founders to ask themselves the question too: am I the right company in the wrong place?

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Man Convicted of Fraud After Booking Over 120 Free Flights Posing as Flight Attendant
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Hungarian Parliament Approves Citizenship Suspension Law
Prime Minister Orbán Criticizes EU's Ukraine Accession Plans
Hungarian Delicacies Introduced to Japanese Market
Hungary's Industrial Output Rises Amid Battery Sector Slump
President Sulyok Celebrates 15 Years of Hungarian Unity Efforts
Hungary's Szeleczki Shines at World Judo Championships
Visegrád Construction Trends Diverge as Hungary Lags
Hungary Hosts National Quantum Technology Workshop
Hungarian Animation Featured at Annecy Festival
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
UK and EU Reach New Economic Agreement
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Austrian School Shooting Leaves Nine Dead in Graz
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
×