Entrepreneur was born a French word … .

At i7 Summit , last week (Oct 10 to 12th), Tim Draper was asked a question regarding France.

Basically, what should be done to make France successful, or say a successful business in some way ?
The reply, with a grin, was about breaking it down and rebuilding.

Suits me well. At least we share the same view on this matter.
No point in throwing away everything but, for some parts, entrepreneurship (or just entrepreneurial spirit) in the country has to cope with what I would call the “habits”.

Heritage regarding bad practices, poor company management and development skills, a looking-for-big-money-only spirit in some, etc … .

And those can hardly be turned back to the right direction. And how do you break down such a huge piece of past ? Try beating down a stone wall with a straw.

The current economic situation and random legal moves from the Government on taxes (for entrepreneurs, on profit, on earnings, on whatever … they seemingly wake up every morning with another new … idea for a tax) could maybe help sort the entrepreneurial landscape in the (near ?) future.

Well, even during dark times, the sun does still rise.
Have a look East and a buzzing startup scene is in sight. That is Berlin. Strongly developing, drawing in a lot of talent and showing the potential to be some new European “Valley”.

Still, keep looking East and there, one will see Lithuania. The new, new hub for startups in Europe ? Future will tell but, so far, the country has been making some noticeable noise on the startup scene.

With a reputation for boasting strong technical skills, the country does have a similar basis as France and, funny enough, still tend to have to overcome some of the same hurdles.
There is not yet much of a tolerance for failure there. The ecosystem still has to be developed, be it locally or internationally (especially when it comes to investors) and the Government would have to get more involved in the overall process of pushing entrepreneurship forward.

However, the startup culture in the country is growing.

People to meet when willing to have a look into the future : students.
Lithuanian students are quite ok with working part-time while studying and setting up their own businesses at the same time. Add to that a high level education, multilingual talent pool, fair investments in internet infrastructures, shake and you get the seeds and birth of a buzzing entrepreneurial culture with many young startups developing at country level and on the way to going global.
While still not shining on the startups world map, Lithuania is quietly but strongly developing, luring entrepreneurs through a relatively low-cost startup ecosystem mixed with talent graduating from local universities.

So Lithuania has a very large – and talented -youth base that basically needs entrepreneurial skills and mentorship.
With good work ethics and risk taking minds driven by senior and innovative mentorship, they will blossom and deliver.

Now, what better way of doing it than bringing Silicon Valley to this youth base ?
Let them experience, for a couple of days, what startups truly are about. Let Lithuania have a taste of where the next milestones should be.
What better opportunity is there for a country, for a startup ecosystem, to actually build on clear foundations with the advice – and enthusiasm – of the bests ?

That is what “Silicon Valley comes to the Baltics“, a two-days event, in Vilnius, Lithuania, is about.
This, from my point of view, is going to be an awesome event.
Putting together the next force behind the country’s future (e.g. local, talented, youth), inspiring Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, the Baltics business community and some random guys like myself from all over Europe, that definitely is the way to develop a sound and strong community around the startup ecosystem. And bring entrepreneurs, The spirit.

I am definitely looking forward to this event and to the actual development of Lithuania as a European startup hub.
Prove me right guys!

[event links : http://svc2baltics.com/ – @SVC2Baltics]