Roundtable with EU Commisioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes Consulate General of the Netherlands San Francisco,

CA August 2011 Natasha Chatlein - NOST San Francisco, CA On August 31, the Consulate General of the Netherlands in San Francisco hosted a roundtable with special guest EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes. The topic of discussion at this interactive roundtable was How can governments stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship for IT startups? and was gracefully moderated by Susan Lucas Conwell, former CEO of SV Forum. The goal was to spark a dialogue on the role of government in stimulating innovation and entrepreneurship in the IT sector. City officials from the cities of San Francisco and San Jose, as well as several VCs and members of the Silicon Valley science & tech community sat together to delve into this discussion. Sean Randolph, president of the Bay Area Council, kicked off the discussion with a quick overview of the state of Silicon Valley. Sean went over the (to us usual) things that make SV so special, which were an eye-opener for Commissioner Kroes and her delegation: - Quality education at top schools which have close relationships with investors that help bring technologies out of the labs and off campus; - An ecosystem that is highly sophisticated with a specialized business support network; - A fluidity, transparency and interaction of people; - High job mobility; - A workplace that is comprised of 40% foreign employees, which gives the Valley an international spirit and creates a global marketplace of ideas. This also creates a tolerance for diversity; - High tolerance for risk and failure. Failure is seen as a badge of honor and is almost a must for entrepreneurs. Jeff Ruster, Executive Director at Work2Future from the city of SJ also mentioned the convergence of sectors in the Valley that lend great opportunities for innovation, such as smart meters which bring together Greentech and IT. One difference between Europe and Silicon Valley, noted Torben Rankine, was the Silicon Valley culture of giving back by successful entrepreneurs. In Europe entrepreneurs put their money away in Switzerland. In the Valley clubs such as Founders Den are launched, and entrepreneurs with successful exits start their own VC funds. Lots of interesting insights were given by other distinguished guests. VC Jeff Clavier, founder of SoftTechVC, underscored the importance of lenient labor laws and employment at will. This makes it easy to ramp up (or down) in hiring when necessary, and allows businesses to scale as fast or as slow as they need to. Additionally, it is best that government abstains from trying to influence SV culture and specific industries directly, however, removing friction can stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship. Jeff was specifically talking about removing friction regarding start-up visas. This is an ongoing fight which is unfortunate, as these startup visas allow for more experienced entrepreneurs from abroad to bring their talents and expertise to the valley, and widen opportunity in all sectors. Michael Masnick, founder of TechDirt and Floor64, would like to see more in the way of antislap legislation and stronger adherence to the Section 230 Safe Harbor take away the suehappy culture! Companies should be able to build platforms and not be held accountable for what users post on or do with them. Additionally, stronger IP laws hurt innovation, as they tend to protect those companies that were there first, making it less attractive for new startups to, well, innovate.

At the end of the roundtable, Commissioner Kroes extended a invitation to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs to go to Brussels to continue this conversation. Commissioner Kroes: What I want is for you to come with your business to Europe!