[SyneRyder]

I read somewhere (can't find the reference right now) that many German companies require everyone to speak English in the workplace because of pan-EU work policies. It's an interchange language that also allows citizens from Sweden & Italy etc to work with German speakers, since they all share solid English-as-a-second-language speaking skills. It isn't just limited to startups.

[That said, I absolutely believe immigrants should make every effort to learn the native language, it's why I've spent so long trying to learn German before attempting to move there.]

[jfaucett]

This is true - externally i.e. outside the 100 million+ people German speaking market. If you need to do business with Swedes, you will do this is English, same for most other EU member states. My point was specific to startups though, once you are a large established company with offices across Europe, English becomes much more beneficial.