The Great Fragmentation

European Straits #177

Hi, it’s Nicolas from The Family. Today, I’m pursuing the discussion on the ‘Great Fragmentation’ and discussing its consequences from an investor’s perspective.

The argument I made in a recent Sifted column is that the world is fragmenting at a fast pace and that European founders (and the investors who back them) should focus more on their domestic market as a result. It generated quite a lot of pushback:

• In his newsletter Sunday CET, Dragos Novac offers a nuanced discussion of fragmentation and its consequences for startups. Read the whole thing, but there were two arguments I’d highlight. First, according to Dragos, politics doesn’t interfere with startups [actually “Tech is decoupled and politics is outta control”]: I disagree, but I figure this is a common assumption in the tech world. The other idea is that there’s now a global infrastructure for scaling tech businesses up across borders—and with that I agree.

• Then there was a subsequent discussion on Twitter with Hussein Kanji of…