Also European, and would like to point out that the major difference is the investor cash available to startups comparing to places like Silicon Valley.
Its not even about being a European. Its about the notion to become successful and start a company you need to go and raise VC.
Its a story that was sold to the world so that the dealflow is generated. Go change the world they say, go and chase your dreams of a better world... Honestly that got me into severe depression. I am not bitter, just stating the obvious that we have been sold a narrative via hustle porn media and that narrative served well.
Now time for a wake up call, all us 300k wantepreneurs cannot generate unicorns and produce a successful exit. That is just statistically impossible.
I don’t think it’s just a question of money, as far as Europe goes it’s still also very much a question of the legal and cultural “frameworks” that inhibit SV style ecosystems from forming.
The availability of cash is a factor for sure but it’s not necessary the main cause. And you can see this with some of the less developed European countries where the lack of incumbent large employers, large unions and as well as a weaker social security net do often lead to them being more entrepreneurial than some others.
And it’s also very important to distinguish between “tech” and startups.
Ireland been very successful at attracting large tech companies but it’s startup scene is still pretty poor. Whilst Eastern European and Baltic states are somewhat opposite.
On the other hand you have countries like Israel that managed to attract both whilst being pretty much at risk of war since it’s inception.
It’s also important to note that there are many paths to success, Europe found a path even if it doesn’t include startups at the same level as the US or other countries. And while it’s also clear that in some cases it does hurt them in the long term as evident by the current dominance of US tech giants it doesn’t mean that the only way out of that is to adopt the SV model.
It’s not just the money. If you announce that you are going to found a tech startup people will think that you are just going to play Space Invaders (mind, not COD or FIFA) all day and stop having showers. If there’s a chance in 200 for an American that a relative will give them some money to bootstrap the company, in Europe is even less likely that your partner or family will take you seriously.
In some European countries it is extremely expensive to found companies. In Italy 5-10K€ would maybe cover all your bureaucratic costs for the first year vs 10-20£ in the UK (or 1K£ if you hire an accountant).
In Italy the government may prevent you from selling your company to foreign entities if it is deemed “strategic”, using the so-called “Golden Power”. What is a “strategic” company is so ill-defined, that it could be applied to any company way before it reaches unicorn status or even relevance.
Its the amount of money, willingness to invest at all and in what to invest.
Sometimes the investors want to be like Silicon Valley investors but yeah its like with the success stories they have read about it but not experienced it.
