If you think you have the idea for the next best business, you should try getting started in one of the best cities for startups in the world.
Working for a startup is exhilarating. It’s an ever-changing work environment because you’re part of something that has yet to be created and it’s constantly adapting to meet needs or new markets. It seems like everyone these days has an idea for the next great startup company because there’s always something new to create and a market that’s been left untouched. Car services are a prime example because while a lot of cities have cabs, apps like Lyft, Gett, and Uber have revolutionized the way we call a car to take us somewhere. When it’s late at night and the trains aren’t running as frequently, I always call a Gett to take me to my apartment.
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Startup companies tend to be based in the same few places. They’re generally very tech-heavy, so it’s important that these companies begin somewhere where tech is king. Those cities tend to be expensive, but startups intrinsically cost a lot of money to get started, especially when it comes to development and design since those things are the core of the app or website that’s being created to provide services. Some of the most successful startups of 2016 are probably based in the cities we’ve put on this list today. You likely won’t be shocked by a lot of these results, as they’re popular cities with a lot of population.
In order to create this list of best cities for startups in the world, we used Startup Genome, which has the most updated info on startup cities. The site calculated different aspects that we’re using for our rankings, like resources for early-stage startups, funding, and market attraction. Those are the more important things to consider when picking a place to start a new company.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best cities for startups in the world.
20. Bangalore
New Delhi may be the capital of India, but Bangalore is the capital for startups. Bangalore is India’s technology epicenter.
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19. Amsterdam-Startup Delta
The thing that mainly attracts startups here is the step-by-step policies made favorable to them, like the tax code and startup visa.
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18. Chicago
About 34 percent of startup founders in Chicago are women, which makes it the city with the largest percentage of female founders. Despite it being a big city, though, Chicago has a hard time attracting foreign startups.
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17. Sydney
There are around 1,300 to 2,100 active tech startups in Sydney. The government supports startups where they benefit from incentives, which is also one of the reasons for its rapid development.
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16. Toronto-Waterloo
One of the strengths of this city is its global connectedness, which is why there’s such a high startup output. About 2,100 to 2,700 startups continue to grow here because of global customers and government grants.
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15. Vancouver
Vancouver’s target startup market is large innovation markets from the US and UK, which means the city has the highest startup rates in Canada. There’s a high percentage of foreign customers as well.
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14. Stockholm
Stockholm startups tend to have great relationships with local corporations. There’s a high percentage of foreign customers here and a high visa success rate.
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13. Austin
Austin has about 1,200 to 2,200 rising startups that are all determined to be established globally. There’s a high rate of global attention, which definitely makes it one of the best cities for startups in the world.
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12. Singapore
Singapore is both a great tourist destination and a great place for startups. There’s a lot of talent and around 35 percent of founders here are immigrants.
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11. Paris
Paris has a high level of global connectedness and a high foreign customer ratio.
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10. Seattle
Amazon and Microsoft have made Seattle very well known. Though Seattle has the highest percentage of startups, it has a low early stage investment growth rate.
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9. Los Angeles
Los Angeles averages about $450,000 in early stage funding per startup.
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8. Shanghai
Shanghai is rapidly growing and has about 1,800 to 2,700 startups. It has a high customer base outside of China.
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7. Berlin
About 43 percent of founders in Berlin are immigrants and there’s a high percentage of foreign customers. In the European startup ecosystem, Berlin is second to London for best performance.
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6. Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv has about 2,200 to 2,700 startups. It has a great reach in global markets despite high engineering costs.
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5. Boston
About 30 percent of founders in Boston are immigrants. General Electric’s headquarters is being moved to Boston from Connecticut, and the city is very acknowledged in science, engineering, and technology.
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4. Beijing
Foreign investors and Beijing’s government have both helped in growing startups. While Beijing, the number four on our list of best cities for startups in the world is quite aloof in startup publicity, there are about 4,800 to 7,200 startups here.
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3. London
London’s attraction rate slowed a bit due to Brexit, but despite this issue, London still has the largest startup ecosystem in all of Europe and there are about 4,300 to 5,900 active startups.
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2. New York
With 6,300 to 7,800 active startups, New York has a large startup ecosystem. About 25 percent of founders are immigrants and there are a ton of tech possibilities here.
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1. Silicon Valley
Around 46 percent of founders in Silicon Valley are immigrants. The cost of living here is high, but it’s the home to large sectors like Apple and Google. It’s a leading city when it comes to high-tech innovations and development.
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That concludes our list of the best cities for startups in the world. If you’re looking to start a company, you should try starting out in one of these incredible places.
