Here in London things are a little different… Yesterday we had a meeting in the fifth floor of an office building. Just, how do we get to the 5th floor giving this usability fail:
Once we managed to get to the 5th floor, it was neither easy to get out of the building again:
And inside the elevator had an eerie feeling of a psychopath tank:
But then, this is London.
Last week I gave a short video interview to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung on building a startup in Switzerland and more specifically on building Squirro.
More in German.
Chris Dixon writes:
Angry Birds was Rovio’s 52nd game. They spent eight years and almost went bankrupt before finally creating their massive hit. Pinterest is one of the fastest growing websites in history, but struggled for a long time. Pinterest’s CEO recently said that they had “catastrophically small numbers” in their first year after launch, and that if he had listened to popular startup advice he probably would have quit.
You tend to hear about startups when they are successful but not when they are struggling. This creates a systematically distorted perception that companies succeed overnight. Almost always, when you learn the backstory, you find that behind every “overnight success” is a story of entrepreneurs toiling away for years, with very few people except themselves and perhaps a few friends, users, and investors supporting them.
Startups are hard, but they can also go from difficult to great incredibly quickly. You just need to survive long enough and keep going so you can create your 52nd game.
How true!
Matthew Ingram discusses the all new Pew Research Center report on the state of media 2012. He points out that news aggregation is a way of life for ever more consumers. Actually more users arrive at an online offering through an aggregation site than through social media such as Twitter & Facebook…
It’s the first time ever that I am here in Radolfzell. Mr Hoepfner, one of our business angels invited us for a creative workshop. And creative we are despite the weather (although that is about to get better, too).
This week was an important week for us: We are introducing Squirro over at my startup. More on our new blog.
On Friday I interviewed three great candidates for an opening as Marketing Intern* here at Memonic. Three very different career paths joined by a similar conjecture: All in their early thirties, from three different countries, finding that Europe has no job to offer to them.
Well for one candidate we might have one**.
Candidate A is from a European country. Great background in Marketing, worked at one stage even for mighty Microsoft. Speaking several languages and well immersed in Switzerland after moving here a year ago. Today speaking fluent German. No job. Push backs: Overqualified, no local experience.
Candidate B from the British Islands has a degree in marketing in communication from a renowned University and many years of relevant marketing experience working for both consumer goods companies and agencies. Had a marketing job, no job today.
Candidate C is coming from Italy. Relevant studies in marketing and communication. Many years of work experience in Italy with marketing agencies and first rate fashion companies. However, given the fucked Italian labour market always as temporary worker. No chance so far for a long term contract.
Millions of young people all across Europe today share a similar fate. A sound education, great qualifications, no perspectives.
It sickens me. It is on the point to that this generation becomes a wasted generation. No chance ever to build a life on their own, found a family; but dependent on parents, the state, and occasionally a bad paid temp job.
Some call this generation the hang loose generation for their propensity to enjoy life. I don’t see any hang loose in the faces of the three candidates interviewed but a desire to work, excel and proof their worth. For them it’s no hang loose but lose lose.
Europe we need to wake up. We require a Marshall type of plan to create a perspective of sincere prosperity.
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* Why as marketing intern and not as full timer? Because the job at hand is designed for an intern, i.e. somebody say in Marketing Studies or a simliar eduction looking for a part time job.
That is we were looking for a working student and the job posting said this clearly. I was thus very surprised to receive such highly qualified applications (next to some applications from our target audience, i.e. students).
** They are all great candidates. In an ideal world without ressource limitations I would offer a full time job to all of them. But then, we are a startup in a fragile situation.
Once the FDP – the (in a European sense) liberals – was the corner stone of Switzerland. Their forefathers founded Switzerland and ruled it for roughly 150 years. For the last twenty years they are in permanent (terminal?) decline. An obvious sign: A good and liberal minded friend of mine applied for membership some 9 months ago. Yet he has to receive his membership card…
Roger Köppel, editor, publisher & owner of the right wing publication Weltwoche pushed a smear campaign that lead to the resignation of Philipp Hildebrand, the president of the Swiss National Bank. The methods employed are smear tactics at its worst and ressemble the North Corean propaganda style more than that of any self-respecting and upright newspaper adhering to the principles of its trade.
It was a really bad day for Switzerland yesterday.
More in German.
