Just recently plugMedia - Howest went on a mission with Flanders Investment and Trade, and with our prime minister Kris Peeters and Minister Ingrid Lieten from innovation and media.

It was an intensive program, but worthwile and interesting to network and visiting companies from California. Mainly in Silicon Valley an Los Angeles. For plugMedia the main interest were Plug and play techcenter in SIlicon Valley. Plug and Play tech center is an incubation or accelerator for startups in high tech, mainly ICT.
Flanders Investment and Trade signed a letter of intent to work together wtih Plug and Play techcenter to establish a close partnership with the Flanders Region, and to eventually get startups from Belgium into the Flemish Paviljoen at the Plug and Play techcenter.

 

 

I visited Plug and Play before, and it is real cool, dynamic environment where you can meet people, enterpreneurs and investors from the region of Silicon Valley. There are plenty of social events that let you network with local people, but also people from Europe and Canada who already are exploring the possibilities of starting a company or affaliates in the center.

The other visit that was important for plugMedia, was the Paramount Pictures visit. The meeting was an intersting discussion on the shift in the movie industry to mobile and online. Also the piracy problems are pretty huge, and part of a criminal system, as they showed us very clearly. Probably the industry could counter this maybe to create more official distribution models online, like Itunes for example, or theauteurs, who I visited before in Silicon Valley.

Paramount pictures will most probably join us on Multimania to give a session on Piracy and other issues they encounter, but also how they see the future of movies, and how they create revenue with branded entertainment, mobile games and so forth, so keep checking!

Why did plugMedia join this mission?

plugMedia wants to be a stimulator for companies who are thinking to go to the US market with a product or good idea, and are ready to get screened for their potential in the US market. This will be in a close partnership with Plug and Play tech center and Flanders Invesment and Trade. You will be introduced, guided in the process by professional people. Needless to say it is not so easy, but the potenitial is huge as the US market is so much bigger then the Belgian market. The synergy we can create between Europe and the US has potenitial. It will not be a one way street, we will try to do exchanges with the Plug and Play startups in Silicon Valley and Belgian startups based in Belgium.

Concrete this will allow us to do the following:

- Exploring startups in Silicon Valley in the fall (I will organize a 6 day trip to Silicon Valley to meet with startups and witness yourself the possibilities of working together).

- Plug and Play University is a one week of exploring and preparing for VC's in Silicon Valley, with a one day pitch possibility where you can actually present your idea, and see what its potenital is.

We will keep you posted on these intiatives asap.

Other articels that might interest you

http://trends.rnews.be/nl/economie/nieuws/beleid/ingrid-lieten-wil-waterstofprojecten/article-1194662197954.htm
 
http://blogs.tijd.be/siliconvalley/2010/02/blog-geland-in-het-al-dan-niet-failliete-californi%C3%AB--na-een-vlucht-van-13-uur-inclusief-het-ont-ijsen-van-het-vlie.html
 
http://www.amcham.be/MemberNewsFullStory/tabid/289/smid/1161/ArticleID/276/reftab/36/t/Flanders-Investment-and-Trade-set-up-with-Plug-and-Play-centre-in-Silicon-Valley-California/Default.aspx

http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/996/Economie/article/detail/1068105/2010/02/16/FIT-opent-weg-naar-Silicon-Valley-voor-Vlaamse-kmo-s.dhtml
 
http://trends.rnews.be/nl/economie/nieuws/e-business/fit-erkent-plug-and-play-tech-center-in-silicon-valley/article-1194661867973.htm
 
http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/942/Economie/article/detail/1068105/2010/02/16/FIT-opent-weg-naar-Silicon-Valley-voor-Vlaamse-kmo-s.dhtml
 
http://www.hbvl.be/nieuws/geldzaken/belga/extern-weg-naar-silicon-valley-open-voor-vlaamse-kmo-s.aspx
 
http://www.nsz.be/nl/nieuws/ondernemen/brug-naar-silicon-valley-voor-vlaamse-kmos/