李京倫譯
At the offices of Deliveroo, a food delivery startup with headquarters in an upmarket neighborhood here, signs of activity are everywhere. The communal kitchen hums with 20-something developers. A gold-painted scooter, which co-founder William Shu once used to make deliveries, stands in the center of the office as people bustle about.
The frenetic pace belies a more cautious approach that Shu, 36, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, has recently started taking at the startup.
在餐點外送新創事業Deliveroo位於這高級社區的總部辦公室裡，處處展現著活力。公用廚房裡有許多20來歲的軟體開發者，顯得熱鬧非凡，共同創辦人William Shu曾用來送餐、漆成金色的速克達，就放在辦公室中央人來人往的地方。
忙亂的步調讓人看不出Shu最近開始對這新創事業採取更審慎作法。Shu現年36歲，曾是美國國際金融服務公司摩根士丹利的投資銀行家。
Over the last year, Shu has urged colleagues to be more circumspect with growth plans, forgoing rapid expansion in competitive markets like the United States to focus on places where Deliveroo already has a loyal following. And while the startup has raised almost $200 million, employs roughly 400 people worldwide and operates in 12 countries, Shu says profitability — and not just aggressive growth to beat rivals to new markets — is increasingly important as the company moves beyond its British roots.
"We need to make the economics work," he said. "We have to understand that every round of funding must be treated as our last."
過去這一年來，Shu要求同事對擴張計畫更謹慎，放棄在美國等競爭激烈的市場快速擴張，而專注在Deliveroo已有忠實客戶的地方。雖然Deliveroo已募到近2億美元資金，在全球雇用約400人，並在12國營運，但Shu說，當公司向母國英國以外的地方發展時，不只要積極擴張、比對手先打進新市場，獲利狀況也日益重要。
他說：「我們得發揮經濟學精神，必須了解到務必把每回募資當成最後一次。」
The focus at Deliveroo is symptomatic of a change across many European startups. Just as in Silicon Valley, where a number of privately held tech companies have been stung by lower valuations and investor questions about their sustainability, that same unease has now reached Europe's tech community, in a sign that a move away from soaring boom times in startups is going global.
Deliveroo關心的重點是個徵兆，顯示歐洲各地新創事業的改變。美國矽谷許多未上市科技公司因市值遭低估並被投資人質疑能否長存而受打擊，歐洲科技業現在也感受到同樣的不安，顯示新創事業告別急速成長時期已逐漸變成全球現象。
Driving the pullback are some of the same forces that have caused a change in Silicon Valley's startup scene. Tech stocks are gyrating because of fears of a global economic slowdown — exacerbated in Europe by the region's migrant crisis and persistent financial problems. Valuations of some startups worldwide got ahead of themselves. As a result, venture capitalists in Europe and farther afield are becoming more cautious about funding local startups that do not have proven business ideas.
"When Silicon Valley sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold," said Fred Destin, a partner at the London office of Accel Partners, a venture capital firm.
讓新創事業變謹慎的因素，部分與改變矽谷新創事業風貌的因素相同。科技股股價因為投資人擔心全球經濟成長趨緩而劇烈波動，在歐洲，股價波動現象因移民危機與長期財政問題而更嚴重。世界各地都有一些新創事業的市值被高估。所以，歐洲與更遠處其他地方的創投家對資助商業點子未獲市場證明可行的地方性新創事業，變得更為審慎。
創投公司Accel Partners倫敦辦公室合夥人戴斯汀說：「矽谷打噴嚏，全球就感冒。」
沒有留言:
張貼留言