Why tiny Stockholm has the most stunning startup ecosystem since Tel Aviv

I think the article forgets one reason why Scandinavian countries do well in IT start ups: Allmost all Scandinavians speak English quite well. Given that most new technology and research is communicated in English, a decent level of English is necessary to adapt new technology. This gives Scandinavians and Dutch entrepreneurs an edge compared to most other European entrepreneurs, except obviously the Irish and British entrepreneurs.

Every single experience I've had with a swede, (technical, entrepreneur, or otherwise) has been extremely pleasant. It might be selection bias - most of those that I've met were outside sweden at the time I met them - but from spending some time in Lund, I got the impression that it's a national trait, to the point that I have considered moving to sweden for a few years if the stars align properly.<p>Perhaps we can have a sweded version of NYC in the US? :) That would be ideal.

I love Stockholm. It's an awesome city and despite the high taxes, it's very progressive in terms of trends. In other words, there are many early adopters there, which is something that is very unique to SV.<p>Also, much of Swedish design is built on simplicity. You can see this everywhere from web design, to store design and of course furniture. The only downside, as others have pointed out, is that its extremely expensive.<p>EDIT: Discrepancies around definitions of conservatism.

1.4 million in the urban area and 2.1 million in the metropolitan area is not exactly tiny.<p>Tel Aviv is for example smaller, but I guess that the comparison is to the bay area/silicon valley or something like that.

An opposing view, where Stockholm is not in the top 20 startup cities: <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/20/startup-genome-ranks-the-worlds-top-startup-ecosystems-silicon-valley-tel-aviv-l-a-lead-the-way/" rel="nofollow">http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/20/startup-genome-ranks-the-wo...</a>

The article missed Tobii, which this year got a $20 million investment by Intel, and has raised over $50 million in total. They're making a very cool eye tracking product that you (among other use cases) can use to control a computer with your eyes.

Some downsides with Stockholm: (1) It is difficult to make friends in Stockholm, because Swedish people are generally very reserved; (2) It is very dark and cold most of the year; and (3) Summer is short.

FWIW: IAmA founder of a startup in Stockholm (sharing offices with Wrapp), AMA.

Yay Stockholm!<p>Another Stockholm start-up that looks interesting is Gavagai <a href="http://gavagai.se/" rel="nofollow">http://gavagai.se/</a>

I've interviewed with Jacob at iZettle. Great guy and team!

Campanja is another rapidly growing startup in Stockholm.

Startups probably do well.<p>However, because of taxes, government regulations, and the fact that it's very difficult to fire someone, it's tough to grow past the startup phase.<p>This is probably why it's not looked at as a great place to start a business by most.