Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
1–10 of 91 posts
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#2Seems like an odd time to do this, given the strict new law (http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/23/dutch-parliament-passes-s...) on cookies that the Dutch Parliament just passed.
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#3It would be helpful if the initiators of Appsterdam worked on gathering information relevant for startups. What makes Amsterdam better than Berlin, Vienna... basically any other city.
What are the legal conditions in the Netherlands - especially in regard to founding a company and getting accepted as an immigrant, what other companies are already situated there (foremost what their experiences are), and how the living conditions and foremost prices are there for example. I'm from Europe, but that doesn't mean I have extensive knowledge on cross border work laws, just like Americans won't have that.
And of course what Appsterdam actually is...who is the driving force behind it right now, and what kind of force that is =
What do you want to do? Organize a few social meetings between founders of startup companies? Is that the extent of Appsterdam? I think it's awesome, I just also think you should be clearer about your intent. Just stating "I want to be the next Google / Silicon Valley / Ipod, doesn't really uniquely identify you :)
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#4Great initiative, but there is no way to 'join' Appsterdam. I could not even find a Facebook Group. How do people connect with each other online?
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#5Seems like an odd time to do this, given the strict new law ( http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/23/dutch-parliament-passes-s... ) on cookies that the Dutch Parliament just passed.
OTOH: the same article also states: "... the Dutch parliament made a bit of history by passing the first net neutrality legislation in the EU. ...". Also i've heard the cookie law isn't as strict as everybody thinks it is, but i'm still searching for a good source explicitly stating what the cookie law includes.
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#6Great initiative, but there is no way to 'join' Appsterdam. I could not even find a Facebook Group. How do people connect with each other online?
a lot of people seem to connect through twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/appsterdamrs
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#7> a location that’s far less expensive, and easier to immigrate to, than Silicon Valley.
4 years ago I travelled (mostly-) western Europe by train, staying in some of the big cities. Compared to the likes of Paris, Barcelona, Rome and Munich, I felt Amsterdam was a lot more expensive.
Of course times may have changed, and the comparison was to Silicon Valley, which I have no experience of, but it struck me as a strange point to pick out when I would have considered there to be more compelling arguments specifically about Amsterdam.
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#8Less expensive? not by much is my bet: Amsterdam is the most expensive city in Holland and one of the more expensive ones in Europe (Scandinavian countries + London may be worse is my estimate). It's also impossible to find housing.
As far as immigration is concerned, one can fall under the category "kennis-migranten" (loosely translated as knowledge-workers) pretty easily, as long as the company sponsoring you is willing to pay the money, around 50K (Pay is not like the Valley, but I'm guessing this is doable).
There is the possibility of starting a company as an American citizen due to a WW2-era Dutch-American Friendship treaty (see http://www.expatlaw.nl/dutch_american_friendship_treaty.htm)
As far as startups I know of in Amsterdam, there is Fashiolista, and Sofa used to be there...
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#9Seems like an odd time to do this, given the strict new law ( http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/23/dutch-parliament-passes-s... ) on cookies that the Dutch Parliament just passed.
OTOH: the same article also states: "... the Dutch parliament made a bit of history by passing the first net neutrality legislation in the EU. ...". Also i've heard the cookie law isn't as strict as everybody thinks it is, but i'm still searching for a good source explicitly stating what the cookie law includes.
True enough. I can see how the cookie law has the intention of making the internet a better place for users, I just suspect that it's highly unlikely to do so, if what I understand about it is correct.
My understanding is that it requires not only an affirmative acceptance from users of cookies, but requires that the site placing the cookie be able to prove that the user did, in fact, provide said acceptance.
Re: Say hello to Appsterdam: developers aim to move the Valley to Amsterdam
#10Seems like an odd time to do this, given the strict new law ( http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/23/dutch-parliament-passes-s... ) on cookies that the Dutch Parliament just passed.
Legally speaking, the larger problem is probably immigration law. The anti-foreigner sentiment here is driving a set of ever more annoying laws and processes.
To digress a bit: For the non-EU crowd, the easiest way into the country is probably with a kennismigrant (knowledge worker) visa. This entitles you to a faster, easier process but there's a few problems: You must work for a company with (or willing to apply for) a special license to have a knowledge worker, you must make over a certain salary, and you're not allowed to do any other sort of work while living here (yes, that probably means your side startup).
Supposedly, you can also set up your own business here and work for yourself directly but I've never met anyone who's successfully done it. I expect you'll probably need to hire a decent lawyer to help sort it out.
Immigration aside, the Netherlands is a nice place to work and there's more to Amsterdam itself then pot and prostitutes. Something interesting is always going on and there's plenty of smart folks bouncing around. Personally, I hope this whole Appsterdam concept (mobile-centric name aside) turns into a huge hit.