Central Europeans like to remind visitors of the great thinkers and innovators their countries have produced: inventors like Nikola Tesla, László Biró, Jozsef Murgaš and Edward Teller, composers such as Anotinín Dvorak and Miklós Rózsa, mathematicians like Benoit Mandelbrot and Pál Erdôs, and writers such as Józef Korzeniowski (Joseph Conrad) and Milan Kundera.
When pressed, Central Europeans will also concede that many of their greatest native sons – including those listed above – only achieved greatness in exile. This is the region’s historical dilemma: How to ensure that local innovators have an opportunity to be successful at home.
The most obvious piece of the puzzle is money. It takes capital to develop a novel idea into patentable intellectual property or a healthy, growing business.
The good news in 2006 is that money is now available – perhaps more than at any other time in the region’s troubled history. It is still an open question, however, whether Central Europe’s professional investors are ready to direct that capital toward riskier, early stage investments in innovative companies.
Loading ...
Recent Comments