We have a remarkably diverse talent pool. Europe’s rich diversity of cultures and backgrounds has created a vibrant and dynamic ecosystem. Jordi Romero Co-Founder & CEO, Factorial The legacy of talent coming from companies that have managed to have an impact globally over the last few years is creating great net- work effects, which is playing a multiplying role in the European tech ecosystem. The improvement in the volume, and quality, of capital for tech companies in Europe is having a huge impact, and has opened the possibility to build global companies from Europe end to end. th Re昀氀ecting on Skype’s 20 anniversary A single success story can have an outsized impact on the tech ecosystem. This is exempli昀椀ed by Skype, co-founded 20 years ago by the CEO of Atomico, Niklas Zennström. Skype’s workforce absorbed a culture of innovation and subsequently went on to start Europe’s next generation of leading tech companies. In total, the 昀椀rst- and second-generation entrepreneurs that emerged from Skype’s alumni network have gone on to start more than 900 companies across 50 coun- tries around the world. This alumni network has already produced additional billion-dollar companies and, today, Skype alumni companies employ more than 65,000 people worldwide. It’s astonishing to witness the ecosystem-level effect that a single, game changing company can have over time. 179 | Talent