5 Best Cities Around the World to Launch a Startup Forget Silicon Valley -- these five cities are thriving.

By Ceren Cubukcu

This story originally appeared on Personal Branding Blog

Nur Ismail Mohammed | EyeEm | Getty Images

When it comes to starting up a new technology business, the first place that comes to mind is Silicon Valley, which is located in San Francisco, Calif., USA. However, the rise of living costs and real estate prices is giving entrepreneurs a hard time because they already have a limited budget. For this reason, entrepreneurs should not forget that there are many alternative locations to found a new business that are much cheaper than Silicon Valley. Below you can find the five best cities, besides San Francisco, to launch a startup.

Related: 3 Simple Ways to Increase Empathy at Work

1. Boston, Mass., USA

Boston is the east coast version of San Francisco. It has a very educated population because it hosts more than 60 universities. Also, some of the most prestigious universities such as MIT and Harvard are located in Boston and this makes to find the necessary talent easier. Also, don't forget that both Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg began their studies in Boston.

2. Berlin, Germany

Berlin is one of the fastest growing startup ecosystems around the world. There are many startups headquartered in Berlin. Also, there are many accelerator programs and incubator centers to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses. It is in the middle of Europe and Germany has a very strong economy. Therefore, if an entrepreneur is targeting to be a business in Europe or wants to grow his/her business in Europe, Berlin is the place to be!

Related: The Do's and Don'ts of Asking for a Raise

3. Bangalore, India

Bangalore hosts around 4,900 active startups. It is one of India's leading tech cities since 1970s. It has low labor costs along with great technical talent. Moreover, there are plenty of early adopters in Bangalore so startups can showcase their MVP or finished products easily and find some active users. It has a great investor potential as well.

4. Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is the bridge between Europe and Asia. It is a very large city with a population of 15 million people and its population mostly consists of younger people. Mobile device ownership and internet penetration rates are very high. New business accelerator programs and incubator centers are opening up every year so getting into a program in order to grow your business is easier. However, it is an emerging market so one should be ready to be up against the challenges of an emerging market.

Related: Why Employer Branding Is So Important

5. Melbourne, Australia

Melbourne often competes with Sydney to be the tech city of Australia but Melbourne has lower living and real estate costs compared to Sydney. This makes Melbourne attractive for startup founders. Also, its people are open to new ideas and innovation and this makes finding early adopters easier. In addition, the business community is very diverse so startup founders from any industry can try their chances in Melbourne.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Franchise

She Quit Her Corporate Job to Sell a Refreshing Summer Staple — Then Made $38,000 the First Week and $1 Million in Year 1

With nearly $40,000 in first-week sales and $1 million in her first year, DeSario Turner's story is a blueprint for success.

Business Solutions

AI Tools So Good, You'll Think You Hired a Team

Design, write, edit, and build—faster and smarter.

Business News

JPMorgan Will Fire Junior Bankers Over a Common Practice That CEO Jamie Dimon Calls 'Unethical'

According to a leaked memo, JPMorgan is telling junior analysts that they will be fired if they accept another job in advance.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Growing a Business

Giada De Laurentiis's Major Deal With Amazon Is a New Frontier for the Chef and Entrepreneur

Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis discusses turning a two-minute demo into a two-decade career, going all-in on content and commerce and what she's building next with Amazon.

Business News

Nvidia's CEO Says It No Longer Matters If You Never Learned to Code: 'There's a New Programming Language'

At London Tech Week, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said even non-programmers can write code thanks to AI.