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I don't think that the 27+ EU markets are a problem. I'm not even sure if there are 27+ different markets in the EU in the context of startups/tech, because if there were then each country would have their own isolated tech ecosystem which is not the case. Most EU countries are dominated by US tech companies.

If different cultures and languages are not a problem for US startups in spreading to Europe I fail to see why it would be a problem for EU companies

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You're missing the bigger picture.

US startups <<grow>> in the US, the huge single market with a single language, then once they're big and can tackle the bureaucracy in order to get to the huge chunks of cash also available in Europe, they <<move>> into the EU.

A not-so-huge startup by US standards can have hundreds of millions of dollars very early in its life, allowing it to switch to international expansion, while most of the equivalent EU startup would probably raise tens of millions by the same stage, if they're lucky.

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