The Next Silicon Valley
Filmed at GLG London
The success of startup ecosystems (hubs) comes down talent, capital, and ideas. Former Google Ventures General Partner Eze Vidra believes the U.K. has all three. Proximity to top universities, progressive policies for angel investing and equity crowdfunding, and a growing pool of ambitious entrepreneurs have made Europe a new breeding ground for tech startups. Eze Vidra sits down with GLG in London to discuss the European startup culture and more.
Eze Vidra is the chief innovation officer at Antidote. Previously, he was a partner at Google Ventures (GV), where he helped establish the fund’s presence in Europe. There, Vidra helped launch products such as Google Shopping, Google Shopping Express, and Google Wallet across a number of European markets. Vidra led funding efforts for Kobalt Music Group—GV’s first ever investment made outside of the U.S. He also started and led “Campus London,” Google’s first collaborative environment for startups, now home to over 50,000 registered members.
Before joining Google, Vidra held various senior positions at Shopping.com in Israel, Ask.com in Silicon Valley, and AOL Europe in London. In 2003, Vidra co-founded a startup in Israel, that enabled text-input technology in mobile phones.
Vidra serves as a trustee of Up Europe and is on the advisory board of BBC Worldwide Labs. Outside of work, Vidra founded Techbikers, a non-profit cycling community that helps build schools and libraries in Nepal, Cambodia, and India. He’s also the founder of VC Cafe, a popular blog on startups and venture capital. Vidra received his B.A. in business and IT management from IDC in Israel and holds an MBA from London Business School. A native Argentinean raised in Israel, Vidra is fluent in Spanish, Hebrew, and English. He currently lives in London with his family.