TNW 2023: It’s a difficult time, and that means plenty of opportunities for tech start-ups

By Aafke Eppinga

The TNW Conference 2023 (The Next Web) got off to a somewhat disappointing start yesterday. Mark Rutte was absent himself but addressed the packed Vision Stage via video. Many visitors walked away. But, “Rutte is an odd dude to invite to a tech conference anyway,” – according to my neighbor, so the setback was quickly forgotten.

TNW director Myrthe van der Erve would have preferred receiving Rutte in person. She thinks it is essential for the government to become part of the tech sector. “There needs to be a lot more political knowledge for tech. Sometimes members of parliament come along, but then you say three things, and then they flap their ears.”

Tech for good

With the theme “Reclaim the future,” TNW – a subsidiary of The Financial Times – advocates more optimism in the tech world. Society is looking increasingly critically at tech, and the organization’s goal is to shift the focus to technology’s impact on significant societal challenges.

Whether that succeeds is hard to say after one day, but that the program is varied is one certain thing. A lecture on industrial origami in mobility, a game of padel with the young consultants of Ernst and Young, tech battles between Dutch start-ups, a morning show hosted by The Financial Times, or an interactive breathwork session (which should provide peace and clarity for anyone working in the chaotic, busy tech world): there is something for everyone at the two-day conference in Zaandam. With 10,000 visitors, over 6,000 companies, and 1,500 start-ups from 120 companies, TWN can call itself Europe’s leading tech conference.

Significantly less investment in start-ups

Although the buzz from the start-up pavilion sounded upbeat, the main conclusion from the Global Start-up Ecosystem Report (GSER) 2023 presented Thursday morning was anything but. The report showed that start-ups received 35 percent less investment in 2022 than in the previous year.

Fintech start-ups are doing well, and let that be the sector par excellence that thrives in the Amsterdam start-up ecosystem. It ensures that the Amsterdam delta ended at spot #3 in Europe’s top five ecosystems.

In 2022, the tide has turned: investment in start-ups down sharply

In 2022, there was a 35 percent decrease in start-up investments compared to 2021. This is one of the key conclusions of the Global Start-up Report 2023.

Chat GPT: (not so) revolutionary

According to David Heinemeier, designer of the programming language Ruby, co-founder of software company Basecamp, professional racer, and best-selling author, there is no reason not to be optimistic. “It’s the best time ever to be a start-up. Start-ups founded in fat times don’t know how to make things, only how to spend money. Many of the best companies in the world were founded in bad times. It’s a good basis for building a sustainable business.”

Anyone listening to Heinemeier for over 20 minutes will automatically feel like starting a business. The benefits are endless if you ask him. Freedom (“Scale up slowly. The longer you put off external investment, the better your business gets”). Small teams are flexible (“WhatsApp, even when it had a trillion users, only employed 44 people”). You can work remotely (“I’d rather retire than return to the office”). Small side note: his advice applies only to software companies; any attendee working in any other sector “better forget all about it.”

His main advice? “Don’t look at this time as a bad time. And don’t be afraid of AI taking over our jobs. You can live in a cave for six months, and you’ll be back at it within a week. Chat GPT is nice, but not so revolutionary.” Kwebbelkop (Jordi van den Bussche), a YouTuber with nearly 15 million subscribers and founder of a media house with over 60 employees, thinks otherwise. During the Q&A afterward, his most frequently heard answer is “Ask Chat GPT4.” Well, opinions differ.