Yesterday I was complaining about some of the structural limitations that might prevent successful European start-ups in an international marketplace. But it seems that there are a few disruptive VCs that are trying to make the whole process easier, or at least more transparent. I don’t think it necessarily guarantees that you will get funding, but it does reflect the fact that some forward-thinking European VCs are actively trying to identify interesting projects in a way that supports and encourages young entrepreneurs in Europe.

Why is this happening now? This reminds me a bit of a debate that we had in my political science classes at Yale about how to foster structural change. In that case, we were talking about how to combat racism, and the question was whether desegregation in the US could be legally mandated or whether it was smarter to give business leaders an economic incentive to change their behavior and then such changed behavior would then trickle down to the consumer. We generally came to the conclusion that government has its role in fomenting social change, but that the alignment of economic interests was what really created meaningful social change. It’s great if the government alters the overall structural limitations, but then you need some early adopters to implement the desired change. Altruism and morality might lead to interesting theoretical discussions, but money talks.

In this case, the early adopters with the aligned interests are successful entrepreneurs who want to foster entrepreneurship in Europe while making some money for themselves (or for their companies) by creating global companies from European start-ups.

For example, Saul Klein of Index Ventures has created the OpenCoffee Club. Once a week, from 9-12, he’ll be at a local Starbucks in London, and anyone who wants to stop by can chat with him or anyone else that shows up. The idea is to make VCs accessible and transparent, and to create a space where entrepreneurs can meet potential investors while having access to free wifi. Saul has invited other investors/entrepreneurs to start local OpenCoffee Clubs in their own countries/regions. He also invites readers of his blog to send him any questions that they might have on funding, and he’ll either answer them or look for the answers. We should applaud his efforts, because, to date, my limited experience with VCs has been uninspiring and controversial at best . . . .

Saul has also posted on his blog an insightful presentation prepared by Ben Holmes, his colleague at Index Ventures, that answers the following issues:

• How do VCs work?
• When to Raise VC Finance
• Strategies for VC Fundraising
• How to Choose the Right Partner

Somehow I’m skeptical that this would happen in Spain, largely because the environment still does not foster local entrepreneurs or investors. London, however, has a much more vibrant and established business community, to the point that some people argue that it’s the new financial capital of the world.

In such an environment, maybe London has a chance to become the European Silicon Valley . . . .

Update: As I was surfing the web after writing this post, I came across an interesting counterpoint on BBC’s website. Kulveer Taggar, a recent Oxford grad (he was the President of Oxford Entrepreneurs) and CEO of www.boso.com, explains why he left London to go to Silicon Valley in pursuit of fulfilling his Internet dreams. Let’s just say he paints a pretty harsh picture of looking for financing in the UK. The debate continues . . .