7Digital CEO Ben Drury has told TechRadar that London's Silicon Roundabout is beginning to have a real impact, although he's not convinced by the high-tech area's nickname.
Silicon Roundabout is the name attached to the juncture of Old Street and City Road in central London, an area being groomed as the England capital's answer to California's famed Silicon Valley.
Drury, in an interview with TechRadar as part of Brit Week, insisted that the creation of a high-tech hub is of paramount importance, and that a culture of sharing ideas is beginning to arrive for the Old Street-based focal point.
"[The Silicon Roundabout] is an awful name, but you do need a hub," said Drury. "We have started hanging out with other companies in the area, becoming part of the social scene and generally swapping ideas and getting advice."
Help and advice
"You can help each other if there are some dodgy investors snooping around who have been watching too much Dragon's Den and want 50 per cent of your company for three quid," he added.
"It takes time for a community to build up but it is starting to happen. I am more positive now than any time before in London."
Drury's 7Digital is a British success story, with the digital music download store competing with some massive global names for our digital dollars, including Amazon and Apple.
"People in Britain and in Europe have always been a bit afraid to take risks but this is also starting to change. There is now more of an entrepreneurial culture," Drury says.
