BLOG: The belgian/flemish challenge: promotion of innovation

A post coming from the heart of an innovator.

Just saw a television episode about the decade of L&H or how a world leading company diminished in just months with the gold in their hands. Some would say a complicated story, but in fact, it's a proof of a very simple challenge... innovation and the lack of support, a belgian/flemish story.

For those children that don't know L&H, it's about a company named after their founders Lernhaut & Hauspie, two visioneers at that time. We write the year 1999. Just before the burst.

L&H, based in Ieper (Flanders Language Valley), was the biggest growing start-up in Belgium and even in Europe. They got one thing nobody else was having with that level of sophistication... speech recognition. (the thing nowadays seems logic and build in in several smart phones). Flanders built a complete valley (the new Silicon Valley as reported in Business week in the early year 2000) around the company, named Flanders Language Valley. The US military was even interested in their technology. 

You can now visit the area, but most of the buildings are empty, a desolate cemetery of innovation. What happened? Bad accounting is what they are charged off (fraud), but in fact, most of the start-ups and larger tech companies in the US are having exactly the same accounting structure. Companies like Google eg.  But let's not make the case of L&H.

The big problem the old continent is facing, is innovation and how we can turn innovation (a good idea) into a sustainable business, without having to fill in large heaps of paperwork. Business Week wrote last week that the new innovation gems are not to be found in the US, but in the old continent, Europe. The next Facebook would be a company probably managed from or a scandinavian city or London.

Why can't this be a Belgian or Flemish city, like Ieper for l&H (who was valued than at 14 billion dollars)?

Well, Belgians are categorised as very traditional thinkers. Schools are teaching that you need a 100% safe and covered business plan (probably 100% covered by finances of mum & dad), before you can even think about starting a company. Let alone, having an investment in an idea. With one of the largest public services employee numbers (Italy beats us, but is that something to be proud off?), most scholars are thaught to lay low, not to be an innovator, but rather a follower. For those that want to innovate, you are obliged to pass by heavy bureaucracy of banks, who, with all due respect, don't know how innovation works, even if it would smack them in the face. Venture Capitalists are very scarce and even if you would get the funding, there is no physical center of innovation. No sillicon Valley, no Flanders Language Valley anymore...

The city that understands and realises that innovation exists and needs a support from a city, will win the battle and why not, fund the next Facebook...

Time to move Flanders, or the technology moves away! We have a lot of politicians who use world renowed technology like twitter, but when are they starting to realise that every high tech trend they are following, comes from countries outside of Belgium. in stead of shouting, they should start thinking about, how can we invest in our technology, so that next time you chat in 140 characters, it's on technology coming from Belgium.

This is also a tribute for those that are innovating and paddling against the waves and yes, we have a large role to play in innvation... just have a look at a presentation of Gunter Pauli, ex-founder of Ecover and now blue economy investor and by all means, he is coming from this little country: link