> some countries impose rules which make starting up with little to no money impossible You mean the € 25k required to found a German LLC (GmbH)? As of a few y

> some countries impose rules which make starting up with little to no money impossible You mean the € 25k required to found a German LLC (GmbH)? As of a few years ago it's possible to found one with a single euro as long as you use a certain fixed percentage of the profits to built the company's capital (the company remains "UG (haftungsbeschränkt)" until you accumulate the € 25k, then you can transform it into a "proper" GmbH). The paperwork involved (including notary and lawyer/accountant fees) still mean you should have about € 2k disposable before you incorporate, though -- not to mention the ~ € 500 you may accidentally pay scammers if you're not careful. That said, Facebook and similar startups couldn't have started in Germany simply because of German privacy laws. At least once a week I hear of a new US product or start up that simply wouldn't pass basic privacy checks in Germany.