Vidya Peters, the Indian-origin CEO of Amsterdam-based intelligent automation firm DataSnipper, believes Europe’s perceived disadvantages are actually its greatest strengths when it comes to building billion-dollar companies. Speaking to Fortune, Peters argued that Europe’s scarcity of capital, fragmented markets, and lack of visa restrictions like the H1B in the US have created a fertile ground for global-first startups.
“Scarcity forces discipline. Fragmentation gives startups diverse talent. And limited funding pushes founders to act globally from day one,” said Peters, whose company recently hit a $1 billion valuation.
Europe’s visa flexibility and time zones are strategic assets
Unlike US startups that can scale domestically, European founders are forced to think globally from the outset. Peters highlighted how DataSnipper could sell across Europe, hire multilingual talent, and reach customers in three continents within 24 hours—all from a single headquarters in Amsterdam.
“You can hire native speakers for key markets without opening foreign subsidiaries. You can sponsor visas without the H1B bottlenecks,” she said, adding that this flexibility helped DataSnipper expand revenue globally while remaining Europe-based.
Would they have grown faster in the US? “Maybe,” Peters admitted. “But faster isn’t always better.” Europe’s constraints, she said, forced discipline: no over-hiring, no premature fundraising, no chasing shiny features.
Today, DataSnipper’s headquarters remains in Europe. Its team spans continents. Its customers are in 170 countries. “The next billion-dollar story might not come from California,” Peters told Fortune. “It could come from a city where the coffee is stronger, the buildings older, and the team is already thinking globally from day one.”
Global capital for global ambition
Peters also cautioned European founders against limiting fundraising to their home turf. “If you want to build a global company, you need global capital,” she said, revealing that one of DataSnipper’s biggest backers came from cold outreach beyond Europe.
“You should be picking up the phone—or sending a well-researched email—to explain why your product has worldwide potential,” she advised.
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