The Rise of Silicon Roundabout

It's clear that the expansion of East London's Silicon Roundabout - the new hub for media and tech companies - is beginning to gather pace.

It's clear that the expansion of East London's Silicon Roundabout - the new hub for media and tech companies - is beginning to gather pace.

Google's multimillion pound Campus building, offering a cheap home for start-up businesses, has been followed by further investment elsewhere, most recently from Barclays and Vodafone. Facebook and Amazon have also been getting in on the act, with both announcing developments in London.

All things considered, Silicon Roundabout is certainly on its way. But haven't we seen this before in the dot-com bubble?

For those with a short memory, this was the dramatic rise in value of the "internet sector" in the late 90s, which culminated with the bubble bursting in 2000. A number of firms went bust, and took on the not so affectionate title of "dot-bombs".

But this time, it feels different. Clear value to investors, better scrutiny and a focus on business fundamentals seems to be staging this.

Back in the dot-com bubble there was definitely technical skill along with a huge amount of enthusiasm, but this was hindered by naivety and a lack of understanding of how a business works. Some firms got away with it, but many didn't.

This time around there seems to be a greater sophistication and maturity in the Silicon Roundabout community. The technical skill and enthusiasm still exists, but people now have a deeper understanding of what it takes to get a business off the ground. They're wiser; more experienced.

Now there is a fertile and, crucially, more realistic environment for investment emerging. More than 3,000 firms make up the East London tech hub, including everything from Housebites - which offers a 'social dining' experience with a local professional chef - to Teamly - a tool to better manage workplace performance via to-do lists and more.

This emergent culture goes some way to explain why top tech businesses from the US, Japan and even the UK are investing resources in the neighbourhood.

As well as the influx of global players, we are also seeing the arrival of specialist tech investors, from Silicon Valley Bank - which opened its first UK branch in June - to peer to peer lenders and "crowd-funding" models.

A prime example of the crowd-funding model is Kickstarter, the world's largest funding platform for creative projects, that is set for a UK launch in the Autumn. Kickstarter is a hub for crowd-funding -a kind of social fundraising - that has been a huge success in the US. UK companies have taken advantage too. Only in June, London game studio Goldhawk Interactive raised $155,000 from nearly 5,000 "backers", all brought together by Kickstarter.

Kickstarter has the potential to offer a fantastic platform for fledgling start-ups, but it's not the only innovative funding source around.

Following the dot-com crash, one of the biggest challenges for tech start-ups has been access to investment. And in the current financial climate, one of the hardest things to alter is investment attitude to risk.

London is a great place to raise later-stage finance, though it's true that there is a more cautious market for start-up funding - which is why outside investment could be key.

This means we may see an increasing reliance upon initial investment from the US and elsewhere, but the signs for Silicon Roundabout are positive.

Those nervous about another bubble should rest assured for now. It might be a roundabout but there are few signs of people wanting to turn off.

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