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Quotes: Why Amsterdam is well-equipped for business

AmsterdamToday

Over 2,500 international companies who have invested in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and chosen to become part of our long history as a successful business hub and leading centre of trade. The Amsterdam Area has what it takes to help your business.

“Amsterdam has a really independent mindset – it’s a place where for centuries people haven’t been scared to innovate. Newcomers are inspired by that spirit of independent thinking. I think it’s what drove me and my friends to set up Guerilla Games in the first place. We have some 26 nationalities working here in our Amsterdam office. As an employer, I find it easy to attract people from overseas because people are attracted by the quality of life. Take my commute to work: a ten-minute walk along the canals, dropping my kids off at school on the way!” Herman Hulst, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Guerilla Games

‘With TED, Lego and Deloitte as our founding clients, starting the agency in Amsterdam was a no-brainer. Amsterdam is the Silicon Valley of creative advertising. The smartest minds from all over the world flock here to work at a handful of creative agencies in partnership with the world’s biggest brands. Global advertising is the ultimate platform for storytelling and it’s what Amsterdam does best.’ Alex Bennett-Grant, Co-Founder of We Are Pi

‘The Netherlands [Amsterdam] offers a number of clear advantages for a growing international organisation. These include a high level of education and in-depth technical knowledge, linguistic aptitude and the multinational trade spirit of the Dutch.’ Ulrika Carlsson, Director of Finance, Cisco Systems (Cisco’s EHQ, Shared Services Centre and EDC are all located in Amsterdam)

‘I find Amsterdam to be a very encouraging business environment, particularly in the field of ICT. Everything here dovetails with our organisation’s goal of providing consulting solutions that create better business value for everyone. And the Netherlands is a very adaptive community in terms of online banking, social media and so on.’ Dennis Gada, Client Partner, Infosys

‘Amsterdam has it all. It’s all about interactivity nowadays, and Amsterdam is Europe’s epicentre of all things inter-active. In terms of digital accessibility and stability, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is one of the best places in the world and boasts a multifaceted ICT industry.’ Dirk Bavelaar, Country Director, ReachLocal

‘In the larger European countries, the individual domestic markets in question are so huge that less priority is assigned to the other regions. For us it was important to have an office in Europe that was closer to all of the local markets. Consequently, our location had to not only offer optimum connections with Taiwan and China but also with the European hinterland; with people who understand how all Europeans think and do business. That’s why Amsterdam was the only candidate left on the list.’ James Lai, General Manager, Mean Well Europe

‘We’re moving a lot of data around, powering a lot of games, backing up a lot of servers. The Dutch people are historically innovators, with the focus of this innovation being Amsterdam. Part of innovation is creativity, and in Amsterdam there’s a vibrant creative network, a vibrant financial network and a vibrant technology community.’ Jonathan Wistler, Managing Director – SoftLayer

‘The average Dutch person is tolerant of change, receptive to new technologies, and willing to take a critical look at the way they work including a high level of education and in-depth technical knowledge, linguistic aptitude and the multinational trade spirit of the Dutch.’  Managing Director, Paradigmata Media

Bloomberg conducted research into a total of 160 different markets. Hong Kong topped the list, scoring 49% overall while the Netherlands was close behind with a score of 48.3%. The US ranked third with 46.9%. The Bloomberg rankings are based on six factors: the cost of setting up a business, cost of logistics, degree of economic integration, cost of labour and materials, less tangible costs such as inflation and the perception of corruption and the readiness of the local consumer base. Source: Bloomberg, 2012

Photo credit: downatthezoo / Foter / CC BY-ND

About Menno Lindeblad

Founder at Designstudio Lindeblad®, AmsterdamToday® ParadigmataMedia® FreelanceJournalism® and ExecutiveBusiness®. As a strategist, publisher and online content specialist, I believe media is serious business for the creative minds that wish to succeed the most in this digital age. My professional life is dominated by two activities: trying to understand things and to put things in motion. The first has lead to various columns and articles. The second has put on the path of entrepreneurship. My mission is to empower young entrepreneurs with the tools, programming, mentorship, network, funds and freedom they need to activate their talent. Do you ever laugh, cry, get angry or inspired? You’ll fit right in. Got a pitch, tip or leak? Contact me via email: M.Lindeblad@AmsterdamToday.eu Contact: Website | Facebook | More Posts

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