Globalization Takes UrtheCast To Luxembourg
Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
by Theras Wood
Taking a corporation ‘global’ is a formidable task, especially for a fledgling company. But for a corporation with cross-cultural potential, it’s worth seeking help — help that can come in the form of an accelerator.
On September 27, 2012, UrtheCast’s President, Scott Larson, flew to Luxembourg to attend the second annual “Local to Global” Expo. The accelerator event took place amongst twenty-eight ambitious “high-growth” startups, and was orchestrated by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), an international professional services firm that vets attendees based on the “uniqueness of their technology, the quality of their management,” and “ambition to grow internationally”.
While in Luxembourg, Scott chatted about strategic development and the challenges facing digital platforms in a local vs. global business environment. Attendees then had the chance to connect with fellow high-tech startups and learn from the European investment community.
Luxembourg, looking rather grey. Credit: Oleg V. Ivanov / Shutterstock.com
Going Global
As seasoned globalization expert Carlos Ramon explained at a recent PwC event, the benefits of corporate globalization are three-fold:
- Increasing shareholder value: With the goal of maximizing shareholder value, “you must think of the company as a global organization”. Increasing market presence in new territories “will always bring more value over time for the company and in return, its shareholders,” explains Ramon.
- Curbing competition: ”There is nothing worse than coming up with a revolutionary product/service and allowing a ‘me too’ company to develop in another market.”
- Team building: Having an international presence “is the best way to convince new hires of your company’s international angle,” and attracts the best team.
Startup Endgame
An accelerator, though many believe it to be, is not an incubator – it offers only the appropriate stepping stones toward growth. An accelerator offers entrepreneurs and startups a number of resources such as capital, connections, and other tangible components…whatever they require at that moment in time. By providing access to high-profile mentorship, they can help transition companies from startup mode, into a fully-formed entity. In fact, they’re now widely considered part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Word to the wise: according to Fast Company and other publications, tech accelerators are “sprouting everywhere”. So, as usual, extensive research is recommended.
Check out some of these cool tech companies* we ran across in Luxembourg — you might just be hearing and seeing more from them:
- Russia’s Vizerra – Vizerra has been heralded by Google and Forbes in Russia for its data conversion capabilities. Following a 2010 DEMO conference in Silicon Valley, Vizerra was dubbed one of the top 70-fastest growing tech innovation companies.
- Providing evidence that tangible cash may soon be a thing of the past, FLASHiZ provides an e-wallet service for both retail and person-to-person transactions.
- Falling in step with the emerging geolocation industry is TagTagCity. Not just a catchy name, TagTagCity lets smartphone users click on tags, retrieve information while visiting a city, and offers advertisers the ability to provide special geo-located offers.
- Last but not least, there’s MORF Media, which is pioneering 3D virtual worlds and using technology that will “transform the way users interact with brands through social games in 3D virtual worlds.” That there’s a whole other blog.
* Corporate information and quotes originate from PwC’s official Accelerator Expo fact sheet.
@TherasWood is the writer and Editorial Lead at @UrtheCast.
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