What is preventing Europe from achieving the same level of success as Silicon Valley?
According to Leo Apotheker, “We’re not simply a bunch of useless Europeans who are just good for going to the beach,” which is a common stereotype of Europeans.
Mr. Apotheker was the CEO of SAP, a German business software corporation that has become the undisputed market leader in its sector. He also served for a brief time as Chief Executive Officer of the American multinational firm Hewlett-Packard.
He is of the opinion that Europe has a lot to offer.
The 69-year-old man is only semi-retired and now splits his time between Paris and London. For the last ten years, he has been consulting with several small software firms.
Today, he plays a new role as a member of a team of seasoned IT professionals who are intent on putting a stop to Europe’s unimpressive track record of developing huge technological corporations.
Phill Robinson is the mastermind of Boardwave, and Mr. Apotheker is a contributing member of the team. Parkinson’s disease forced Mr. Robinson, a retired software executive originally from the United Kingdom and now residing in Silicon Valley, to take early retirement.
Mr. Robinson had the idea for Boardwave when he was pondering how he might bring Europe’s tech sector up to the same level as that in California.
Mr. Apotheker started working for Boardwave the day after the company officially launched its website. According to Mr. Robinson, “We are thankful for the jobs we’ve had and the chance to share what we know with others.”
Both are motivated by a conviction that time is going too quickly and by a desire to save future generations of IT pioneers from the struggles that they had to go through.
Mr. Apotheker makes the argument that Europe is home to a few influential people. He draws attention to specialized industries like software for industrial design as well as the United Kingdom’s leadership position in the financial software industry. His verdict is favorable for London’s financial technology (fintech) environment.
However, why aren’t there more of them?
Apple, Alphabet, Facebook, eBay, and many more technology companies call Silicon Valley their home.
He disagrees with the common viewpoint that it is much simpler to acquire financial resources in the United States.
“I don’t believe this has anything to do with trying to get funds; there are plenty of venture capital businesses in Europe.”
According to the venture capital company Atomico, in the year 2023, investors will pour $50 billion into technology enterprises located in Europe.
A lack of peers is one of the challenges faced by digital entrepreneurs in Europe.
“When I lived in Silicon Valley, there was always a group of folks around who were willing to provide guidance. When I was running SAP and wanted help, I would speak to the wall!” Mr. Apotheker explains.
“Boardwave is working to serve as a role model and mentor to the CEOs of other companies in order to assist them in developing.” Being in command of anything may be a pretty solitary occupation. When you wake up in the middle of the night, your mind is racing with thoughts about something, and it won’t stop. Picking up the phone and having a conversation with another person is really valuable.
He envisions the staff at Boardwave rescuing his younger successors from those restless nights and directing the development of more ambitious concepts.
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When Mr. Apotheker was in charge of SAP, he lamented the fact that he did not have a kind advisor with whom he could discuss his worries. “There were a lot of things I battled with at SAP, and I wish I could have spoken with someone who’d been there before me, someone I could bounce ideas off of,” said the employee. “I wish I could have talked with someone who’d been there before me.”
A realization that time is not on the side of experienced older men was another inspiration for the creation of Boardwave. “Of the few hairs that are still on my head, most of them are gray. Therefore, I am prepared to devote the remaining amount of time I have to this.”
This involves discussing choices that were made that did not turn out as planned.
“We discuss the errors that we’ve made in the past. We have been very careless, but we have also been successful in certain areas.
Many people point to the pessimism prevalent in Europe as a bad contrast to the unbridled optimism prevalent in Silicon Valley.
On November 18, 2022, after her conviction on four counts of fraud, Elizabeth Holmes will appear in front of a federal judge for the imposition of her sentence.
Elizabeth Holmes, a former celebrity in Silicon Valley, is now serving an 11-year sentence in jail for fraud.
In spite of this, Mr. Apotheker places a high value on the ability to ask perceptive questions in an industry that has its share of dishonest businesses, such as Theranos, the Silicon Valley startup whose founder, Elizabeth Holmes, has recently started serving an eleven-year jail term for cheating investors.
Because of my mixed Germanic and French ancestry, I have a tendency to be cynical and skeptical, but I try to use those traits to my advantage.
His coworker, Mr. Robinson, who is 58 years old, is open and honest about how having Parkinson’s Disease inspires him. I’ve learned a lot about the software industry over the years, and I’d like to pass that information on to other people before my brain becomes too mushy.
At the age of 23, he moved to Silicon Valley and began what would become a remarkable career in business software. He had earned one of the first degrees in computer science offered in the United Kingdom.
“I think there is a big talent pool in Europe, but it’s really dispersed. We span a distance of 1,000 miles, but Silicon Valley stretches for just 40 miles. In 2022, he used his kitchen table to launch Boardwave, which has since grown to include 800 members, chief executives, and founders spread throughout Europe.
According to Phill Robinson, the IT industry in Europe is tremendously fragmented.
These mentors are available to connect with startups that have registered with Boardwave. Boardwave’s goal is to guide them to the vital stage of having a turnover of one hundred million pounds, at which point they will be able to spread their wings on the worldwide scene.
Other existing programs share Boardwave’s goal of expanding Europe’s top tier of technology. The massive yearly event known as Slush takes place in Finland and provides a platform for early-stage technology companies to network with possible investors.
Juhani Hintikka is the CEO of the cybersecurity company WithSecure, which combats the worldwide menace of malware, hacking, and ransom demands. WithSecure is a success story for Finland.
He, too, provides free counseling to locally based startup businesses, and he thinks the idea behind Boardwave is sound. “I am asked for guidance very often, and when they do, I do all I can to help.”
However, he acknowledges that Europe’s fragmentation, with its many business cultures, is a barrier to innovation. This is in contrast to the enormous domestic market that is available to US enterprises.
Ever ambitious, Mr. Apotheker points to aircraft manufacturer Airbus as a fantastic example of European leadership. “Airbus is currently the biggest in the world after European airline builders banded together to compete with Boeing.”