Everyone is interested in Iran right now, but the concept that they have about the country might be wrong. I had the chance to ask Mike Butcher and Dave McClure’s opinion about Iran. What they are saying in this video is just a glimpse of an iceberg because many are waiting to see what Iran’s startup ecosystem is going to offer in the next couple of years.
There are some people that can actually change people’s minds towards certain subjects. I think Dave McClure and Mike Butcher belong to that elite group. These kind of videos might help change the misconception that many people in the western countries have about Iran.
What Do They Think About Iran?
Many people are interested to know what Dave McClure and Mike Butcher have to say about Iran’s startup scene. I had a chance to meet Dave McClure at Startup Istanbul and Mike Butcher at BDL Accelerate 2015 in Lebanon while I asked them the same question: “What do you think about Iran and when are you planning to come here?”. The answers were the same, they were both so excited about the startup ecosystem in Iran and they wanted to visit Iran in a couple of months.
What Would the Impact Be?
500 Startups and TechCrunch are big names and the people behind these companies can change people’s point of view. Right now there are many individuals around the world that might confuse Iran with Iraq or some even might not have heard about Iran. They might think that we are at war here or we are riding camels, but none of these are true. Some media in the west tried so hard to disturb the Iran’s image in people’s mind. But I think this is the time to change that concept. And startups are a great subject to move in that direction. TechCrunch as a media and 500 Startups as a leading global venture capital and startup accelerator are great choices to start this process.
500 Startups
Apart from the image, these companies can help to import the technology, management knowledge and the experience the western countries have gained in the past years trying to build their ecosystem. Ventures such as 500 startups can push the Iranian accelerators and VC to be better because right now what we have is a domestic knowledge and competition is not that hard yet. With 500 Startups other VCs and accelerators would be forced to work harder to improve themselves, and most importantly lowering the shares that they are currently receiving from startups.
TechCrunch
TechCrunch could be a great channel to make a vibe on Iran’s startup ecosystem and correcting Iran’s image. By correcting that image, many VCs, investors and companies could think about working with Iran. This can create mutual benefits and value for Iran and other countries. We have many great startups in Iran but the success stories should be much bigger. The global coverage can make that happen. With such success stories we can make sure that the young generation would completely believe in themselves and they can work harder to enter the global market.
What do you think about this topic? Share your opinion about the presence of these companies in Iran and their impact on the country’s market.
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