Copycat Business Model Generates Genuine Global Success for Start-Up Incubator- Significados

BERLIN — For Linio, think Amazon for Mexicans, think Zappos for Malaysians. For Easy Taxi, think Uber for Nigerians.

And for all of them, think Rocket Internet a budding tech empire here in Germany’s capital.

From its low-key offices near the center of the city, Rocket Internet has turned the usual business model for technology companies on its head, compiling a team of high-flying finance and management specialists and arming them with the money they need to mimic already successful Internet companies — applying these proven ideas in other countries, often in emerging markets.

Since starting in 2007, Rocket has backed about 75 start-ups in more than 50 countries that now generate more than $3 billion in annual revenue and employ about 25,000 people.

The business model stands in sharp contrast with the ethos that dominates Silicon Valley, where originality is perceived as the main currency for successful start-ups. It also has raised questions over whether Europe’s tech sector, where Rocket is a major player, can ever foster the same level of innovation that has led to a conveyor belt of successful American tech giants like Oracle, Google and Facebook.

DEFINITIONS

Low-Key Offices: it’s a group of offices that work in a quiet way and are not so big compared to the main office of a determined company

Low-Key Offices: se trata de un grupo de oficinas que funcionan de una manera tranquila y no son tan grandes en comparación con la oficina principal de una empresa determinada 


Start-ups: it’s a kind of small company that is based in innovation and new creations in the scope of technology.

Start-ups: es una especie de pequeña empresa que se basa en la innovación y las nuevas creaciones en el ámbito de la tecnología. 

Conveyor belt: It's a mechanical machine consisting of a continuous moving belt that transports materials from one place to another place.

Conveyor belt: Es una máquina mecánica que consiste en una cinta en movimiento continuo que transporta materiales de un lugar a otro lugar. 

Revenue: is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, revenue is referred to as turnover. Some companies receive revenue from interest, royalties, or other fees (Carcello, 2008)

Revenue: es el ingreso que una empresa recibe de sus actividades comerciales normales, por lo general a partir de la venta de bienes y servicios a los clientes. En muchos países, los ingresos se conoce como volumen de negocio. Hay empresas que reciben ingresos de intereses, regalías u otros cargos (Carcello, 2008) 

High-flying finance: it’s a group of financial movements that tend to aim to very high when it comes to value and earnings.

High-flying finance: es un conjunto de movimientos financieros que tienden a apuntar a muy alto a la hora de valorar y ganancias.

 Joseph V. Carcello (2008). Financial & Managerial Accounting. McGraw-Hill Irwin. p. 199