R1 @itsrwanman - Twitter Profile

Ghent is crazy and taking over the world. I’m a bit late to the party, but I’m sure you’ve seen it: Ghent now ranks top 10 in startup density in the world, top 2 in Europe. (Dealroom Report) This is what happened when you have a strong flow of founders, operators, investors, artists and talent feeding into each other. Let me quickly explain why and how. (1) The strong foundations Alain De Taeye built one of the first digital maps on a PC in the 80s, turned it into Ghent’s first real tech company, and sold Tele-Atlas to TomTom for ~€3bn. Then Netlog. The Flemish Facebook. It lost to Facebook, and that’s the best thing that ever happened here. All that ambition and talent scattered into dozens of new companies. (2) A self-reinforcing ecosystem From Netlog emerged the Second generation. Think In The Pocket, Deliverect, Lighthouse, Showpad, Teamleader, Silverfin, https://t.co/n6AmgSsL9A etc. And now the third generation is taking over with Aikido Security, Lexis® Create+, formerly Henchman, ML6. Without forgetting the fourth generation with companies like Tekst, Ravical, WARREN… What I love is that each generation invested/helped the next one. One of my favorite example is obviously Entourage Ventures, but also Syndicate One, 100IN, Pitchdrive and more… (3) A place to gather the best Wintercircus Ghent is my favorite place in this city, and it’s what powers the whole ecosystem. 40+ startups under one roof. Best-in-class events, hackathons, and a community where everyone actually knows each other. It sits right at the intersection of culture, technology and history. A former circus building turned tech temple with good food btw. (4) Talent density It starts with Ghent University, one of Europe’s top research schools, sitting right next to imec and their joint IDLab, where a lot of the deep tech and AI talent gets forged. Players like ML6 and In The Pocket then turn that raw talent into builders and recirculate them back into the scene. So you get a tight loop: the university trains them, the labs sharpen them, the companies grow them, and because everyone is within walking distance, nobody ever has to leave. That is why the talent just keeps compounding. (5) Weather is sh*t And that might be the best reason to build here. Going outside means getting rained on, so you are left with exactly one thing to do: stay in and build. No distractions, no sunshine guilt. (Just kidding we have some sunshine here) Stop everything you’re doing and start to Ghentmaxxxing. Happy to see this city thriving and having a good coverage. See you in Ghent.