Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Right company, wrong place: why I moved my startup from Prague to Amsterdam

Right company, wrong place: why I moved my startup from Prague to Amsterdam

This Prague-founded startup didn't find the funding or the momentum it wanted until it moved HQ to Amsterdam. They've never looked back.

Most founders will agree that timing can be everything when it comes to business success. What fewer people talk about is how crucial location can be. Not every business idea is born in the right market. And while you can’t win if your business isn’t born at the right time (I’m looking at you, pre-Google search engines), you can control where you are based.

In April 2013, I accepted Richard Valtr’s offer to join his startup, Mews. We were building a cloud-based property management system to run hotel operations, booking, payments and guest management, and given my decade of experience at various hotels, I thought we had something special on our hands. But for three years, we couldn’t pick up momentum, and it began to grate on the team. We couldn’t raise the money to grow, and we couldn’t grow enough to widen our pool of potential investors.

And so, five years ago, we moved Mews from Prague to Amsterdam — and haven’t looked back. We were just in the wrong location to make our company a success.

Here are my takeaways from moving Mews to the Netherlands, and some food for thought for founders who think they might have the right company in the wrong place.

Our culture clashed with local investors


In 2013, we began the process of raising seed funding for Mews. After three years, we had a couple of term sheets from Czech VCs. However, at that point in time, the Czech market wasn’t ready for the cloud and the level of automation we were working on. Western Europe has long been ahead of Central and Eastern Europe on this front — an issue that leaves many promising startups in the lurch.

Czech VCs were looking for B2C startups that could reach hypergrowth quickly, as opposed to B2B investments such as Mews. Our key focus at the time was to continue building the product. The terms we were offered weren’t agreeable, particularly on minority protection rights.

Most of our customers were based in Prague, but our plan was always to build a global company


The Netherlands has been a far better fit in terms of investors. The country is a haven for cloud and payments companies, so investors know the landscape well and aren’t so laser-focused on revenue in early-stage companies. As the market is quite developed, Dutch VCs are more confident in valuing potential in complex technology.

Our customers called us home


At this point in Mews’ journey, we had around 40 customers and £30k-40k monthly revenue. Most of our customers were based in Prague, but our plan was always to build a global company.

About a third of our customers were located in the Netherlands, and they were our most supportive. As a customer-centric business, it made sense for us to be close to a community that “got” the product and wanted to help us make it even better.

It’s time to lower the barrier to startup success


Moving a startup across borders is painful. It was necessary for us to sell our own intellectual property to our new entity in Amsterdam — but after that, our most important big-budget expense was our lawyers. Attempting to draft your own agreements will waste more time and money than it saves (I’ve tried) — but a legal professional with expertise in tech and intellectual property will make a move easier.

The Western European startup ecosystem should do more to support early-stage tech businesses in underrepresented regions.

The longer you wait to move to a new country, the more complex and costly it becomes


Social media has no borders — and for founders who are considering moving abroad, it’s a great place to test the waters. I’ve been active on LinkedIn throughout my career, and found that it pays to play the long game. By the time Mews actually landed in Amsterdam, I’d made local connections who helped us hit the ground running, pointing us towards potential customers and employees in the Netherlands.

Always look ahead


The longer you wait to move to a new country, the more complex and costly it becomes. With just a few employees and an early iteration of our product, we had little to lose.

Now we’re on to the next stage: talent-first, location-second. That means being a fully distributed company that hires talent anywhere in the world. This year, we committed to becoming a fully distributed, global company. And while location is becoming less important the more we scale, it was key to get it right in our earliest days. I’d challenge more early-stage founders to ask themselves the question too: am I the right company in the wrong place?

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×