The Mayor of London urged companies in the UK to ‘buy British Tech’, so Tech City can have a chance of matching Silicon Valley at the Innotech Summit in London.
In his first live Google Hangout, Boris Johnson was joined by venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and tech experts from Silicon Beach, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The Mayor was told that London, the UK and Europe in general are risk averse and do not have the ecosystem required to lure powerful investors.
Speaking with Tech City News’ Jeremy Evans after the event, Mr Johnson said he agreed companies in the UK must be prepared to ‘buy British’ if London’s tech scene can ever match Silicon Valley.
It is not only the BBC which needs to adapt, according to the speakers during the event, which included Felda Hardymon, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, Alastair Mitchell, CEO and co-founder of Huddle, and Mark Terbeek, partner at Greycroft, a venture capital for digital media start-ups.
The question was thrown at Boris – why did Summly sell to Yahoo? The answer: because no-one in the UK is prepared to pay £20m to a 17 year old.
As long as this attitude towards risk remains in London, Tech City will find it hard to compete on the world stage.
It is the first time a high-ranking UK politician has used the video chat platform at a public event. The Hangout provided a lively exchange in which, unsurprisingly, the Mayor of London was in his element.
The InnoTech Summit was streamed live by Tech City News.
Reporting by Douglas Ackerman and Jeremy Evans