Creative startups and the city Berlin

The debate around the transformation of the new economic order in cities has gained momentum, particularly following the “creative city” policy. Despite the fact that major (capital) cities have focused on their image as a “creative city”, the benefits of such urban places for creative industries remain vaguely defined. As such, the study proposes to shift the attention to the main stands of thoughts that have focused on the relation between cities (place) and creative industries. In doing so, it attempts to (i) resynthesize the blurred and overlapped perspectives and (ii) redirect the focus from mature and growing firms to young and vulnerable startups. This allows for empirical evidence on the economic, social and symbolic value of cities from the perception of creative startups. Using qualitative interviews with international (co-)founders of creative startups in Berlin, this study finds that the complex nature and varied characteristics of creative startups explains how and for whom cities are perceived to be important sites of economic, social and symbolic manifestations in the production of creative goods and services. In addition, the study also draws attention to the ways in which new communication technologies mediates opportunities for creative startups.