nowEurope

I’m still trying to get my head around Kitchen Budapest. This facility, also known as ‘KIBU,’ describes itself as “a new media lab for young researchers who are interested in the convergence of mobile communication, online communities and urban space and are passionate about creating experimental projects in cross-disciplinary teams.” I guess what surprises me the most is that it’s located in Hungary.

It used to be the tradition here that nearly any young Hungarian with ambition and talent would leave the country to seek their fortune. Not only does KIBU offer opportunities at home, but they also offer guest residencies to foreigners.

The other shocker is that Kitchen Budapest is funded by Magyar Telekom – apparently with few strings attached.

Continue reading ‘Something’s cooking at Kitchen Budapest (couldn’t resist the pun)’

Checking with Google Analytics, I noticed an interesting website that has been sending a steady stream of visitors to nowEurope. ArcticStartup, founded in 2007, presents itself as the leading weblog reviewing and reporting on technology startups and growth entrepreneurship from the Nordic and Baltic countries.

I decided to return the favor by linking to the site and telling you all a little bit about it.

Continue reading ‘It’s good to have friends in the North: ArcticStartup.com’

Every once in a while I get contacted by a young entrepreneur – or team. They have some interesting new business or idea to show me. Usually, they are looking for funding. Alas, rarely do they find financial backing in Hungary. However, a handful of these businesses have gone on to Great Things. (For example, this one.)

I rather like the business model behind Prezi. In essence, it’s simplier, fancier version of PowerPoint (although the founders will probably wince when they read me saying this). Rather than executable software, Prezi is a service delivered entirely online. CEO Peter Arvai told me the service is still in beta, but Prezi is already attracting paying customers.

Continue reading ‘Is Prezi better or different than PowerPoint?’