[tinco]

Just want to add something to the conversation about The Netherlands. A cool thing about this startup is that one of its founders (alexandernl here on HN) is a celebrity in The Netherlands. I would guess if you'd go to a random Dutch street and show people his picture, 7/10 adults would recognize him. Alexander is a frequent guest who explains tech products at one of the NL's most hot prime time shows, he's basically the person who explains what an iPhone app is to everyone over 30 in the Netherlands (assuming everyone under 30 already knew).

Now The Netherlands isn't such a big place, just 17 million people or so, so in the grand scheme of things this is not so big of a deal. But it's important to note that were Blendle founded in a bigger country this might not have gone as well at all. How would you both get a foothold in the press industry and get major coverage on national TV? Alexander is in exactly the right place and at exactly the right time.

Now they've effectively proven their worth on a reasonably large scale, they've used that cred to break into the NYT and the WSJ. How's that for an awesome business plan? I think it's the best advantage small European countries have. We've got <20m inhabitant language isolated nations all over the place. Even the celebrities with prime time are accessible. If you're in the startup scene in NL, odds are you are friendly with someone who is friendly with Alexander.

edit: of course, he has an awesome co-founder and technical team as well, you can't be successful without the tech being top notch.