With good news hard to come by these days in Hungary and the world of venture-capital backed tech startups, it’s a nice surprise to find something positive involving both. The good news came late yesterday afternoon Budapest time, when shares in US-based software firm LogMeIn debuted on the NASDAQ stock market, and subsequently finished the day up 25%. (It is currently a few cents on a very down day for the overall indices.)
In addition to being a shot in the arm for capital-hungry techies everywhere – the IPO was one of just a small handful in the US this year – the successful offering represents a significant triumph for Hungary’s high-tech industry, as LogMeIn has a significant staff presence in Hungary, both in Budapest and at a recently-opened development center in Szeged.
So if anyone believes Hungary doesn’t have what it takes to play in the big leagues in the world’s most knowledge-intensive business, others have now bet more than $400 million – the company’s market share – against you. And for everyone here who helped make it happen, le a kalappal.