Carl and Jan are from Sweden and the Czech Republic, respectively, and our staff when I joined were a Dane, and Dutchman, a Hindu and an American (me). There w

Carl and Jan are from Sweden and the Czech Republic, respectively, and our staff when I joined were a Dane, and Dutchman, a Hindu and an American (me). There was no particular effort to integrate -- of the team, I was the only one who regularly took lessons in Swiss German -- but it turns out that there are several practical reasons to run a European startup in Switzerland: * Taxation in Switzerland is fairly light, lighter even than in the United States. * Business regulation is comparatively streamlined, and labor flexibility is relatively great. * The tradition of efficient public services is rather relevant to any one trying to manage a small tribe of people, anywhere. * Lots of European people would like to work in Switzerland and, unlike SF, it is possible to hire from your European network without visas. Relative to San Francisco, Zurich is not particularly expensive.