Brexit is a bummer. Startups are beginning to leave London, enticed by the lure of Berlin and other EU cities. “Brexit imposes a certain risk of visa requirements for non-Brits,” Julian Baladurage, co-founder of MBJ, one of the firms headed to Berlin, told the Financial Times. “Our team is very international so we can’t risk having to apply for 100 visas.”
TechCrunch will takle Brexit head on at Disrupt London (5-6 December), with thought leaders focused on what the UK, London must do to save the UK’s startup ecosystem, and what startups might do to save themselves.
To keep up with the pulse of investors and founders in the UK, we are conducting a weekly survey of 200+ thought leaders through November 28 to gauge sentiment as new developments surface.
What do TechCrunch’s Brexit surveys reveal?
We will present the final survey results at Disrupt in London (Dec. 5-6) but here is a peek at what we have heard so far. The headline: founders and investors have next to no faith in government ideas.
- 100% of respondents: no support for Home Secretary Amber Rudd’s call for busineses to register foreign nationals helpful to their operations.
- 75%: Felt no better after the Home Secretary withdrew the statement.
- 80%: Rejected India as a source to make up for post-Brexit gaps in talent.
- What do UK founders and investor want? #1 by far is a provision in the law permitting EU talent in the UK to remain and providing UK-based founders a way to recruit and bring to the UK talent in the EU.
Next week we will have feedback from our survey group about the High Court ruling that the the government of Prime Minister Theresa May must seek a vote of parliament to trigger Article 50 of the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which is the path for Britain to quit the EU.
As we mentioned last week, we want to know what TechCrunch readers think, too. That’s why we’re inviting you to take the same survey. Your feedback is crucial to giving us the big picture so we can present you with the best possible analysis at Disrupt, where on Dec. 6 we’ll reveal the results of the survey, including what the community recommends as the most important steps authorities should take to inspire confidence among UK-based founders and investors.
Join us to hear more
Be at Disrupt London to hear the outcome of the survey, and take part in the post-Brexit discussion at the most important event in tech. You can still get tickets with the Early Bird discount – that’s £250 off full-price tickets. Because Brexit is such a bummer, we’ve extended Early Bird ticket sales until 4 December, so secure your spot now. #blamebrexit