Not Optional

16th Mar 2021

European startup CEOs and founders urge countries to adopt the EU’s Startup Nations Standard

We, the founders of Europe’s startups, welcome the launch of the EU Startup Nations Standard. We applaud the EU’s ambition of seeking a pan-European solution to address the needs of startups and urge every Member State to adopt and implement it urgently. We need a pan-European approach to help startups achieve their full potential.

12th Jan 2021

Reuters: Baltic nations top ‘startup-friendly’ category

“While these policy changes will be welcome news to Latvian and Lithuanian startups…we now need the rest of Europe and the European Union to follow suit,” Index Ventures partner Martin Mignot said in a statement.

12th Jan 2021

Tech.eu: Baltic startup ecosystem will bloom thanks to new stock option policies

Index Ventures now ranks Latvia as the most “startup-friendly” country in Europe, following a legislative change to the country’s stock option policy. Neighbours Estonia and Lithuania claim the next top spots.

3rd Nov 2020

New policies to help startups flooding in across Europe

European policymakers are putting in place a series of new laws and initiatives to help the continent rival Silicon Valley, hoping to promote more investment in European tech startups and also attract talent to the sector.

29th Oct 2020

Can Europe become the most entrepreneurial continent?

New data from the Dealroom x Sifted European Startups project, backed by the European Commission and European Parliament, produced for Index Ventures’ Not Optional – Making Europe the Most Entrepreneurial Continent summit shows that the value of European tech companies has increased rapidly.

29th Oct 2020

Germany Prepares Rules to Foster Stock Options for Startups

The government also plans to offer incentives to venture capital investors who come to Germany, Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said at the #NotOptional conference on European innovation Thursday.

10th Mar 2020

TechCrunch: European startups applaud Commission plan to rethink stock options

Startups have welcomed proposals from the European Commission aimed at cutting red tape and shrinking cross-border barriers for small businesses.

26th Jan 2020

Financial Times: Common rules needed to foster Europe’s start-ups

France vies for tech leadership with new laws for stock options

20th Jan 2020

France To Change Rules On Stock Options To Attract Startup Talent

An announcement by President Emmanuel Macron today should make France more attractive to potential employees because of new rules regarding stock options.

19th Jan 2020

CNBC: France is making start-up friendly reforms to lure tech talent and take on Silicon Valley

It comes after 500 European start-up founders warned of a “brain drain” of the best and brightest in Europe.

18th Jan 2020

Bloomberg: Macron Has a Plan to Lure Tech Talent to France

The French 2020 budget law, voted late last year and enacted on Jan. 1, has two major measures already to make stock options of startups more attractive.

2nd Oct 2019

Bloomberg: Why It’s So Hard for Startups to Create Wealth in Europe

Lawmakers across the Continent haven’t given startups the compensation tools they need to share profits with employees. That’s changing.