4 ms·

I agree with the broad strokes of your comment, but I have some nitpicks. I think it's culture that's holding the European tech sector back. Investors in Europe

by tormeh 10y ago

I agree with the broad strokes of your comment, but I have some nitpicks. I think it's culture that's holding the European tech sector back. Investors in Europe are generally very risk-averse and anything that's less than 100 years old isn't really taken seriously. It's fascinating to see how the more neophile countries pull ahead of the rest; how much financial conservatism holds the economy back. When Germans invest, they think mostly of dividends, not growth. And Germany is reasonably sane. Many countries (Italy, Spain) don't have functioning stock markets at all. >(cough cringe PR cough) I so agree. This is a VC blowing its own horn and disguising it as information. Painful. >the craziness of the continent Britain isn't especially rich by European standards (poorer than Germany). London is a deviation. People are flocking to London, not away from the continent. Britain is pretty average in the European silliness contest. We're talking about a country that doesn't have a written constitution or equivalent thereof.

LeanderK 10y ago
i can only comment on the german economy, but i think it's not always comparable. It's true that germany is not producing the same number and caliber of startups as silicon valley, but it's very good at supporting medium sized, specialised business in the long term (from enabling them to conduct cutting edge research though heavily distributed government research institutions to a high number of organisations that help them tackle foreign markets and opportunities). If you're not into these things it's challenging, but as a student i see the different paths and institutions helping the more german subjects like chemistry or building engineer.
cplanas 10y ago
> Many countries (Italy, Spain) don't have functioning stock markets at all. Is there some kind of irony in this comment that I am not getting? I mean, both countries have fully functioning stock markets. The main index for the Spanish stock market is IBEX35 and the Italian is the FTSE MIB.
- tormeh 10y ago
  They have stock exchanges, but ordinary companies don't list there. It's mostly just big banks and similar.

by tormeh 10y ago

LeanderK 10y ago

i can only comment on the german economy, but i think it's not always comparable. It's true that germany is not producing the same number and caliber of startups as silicon valley, but it's very good at supporting medium sized, specialised business in the long term (from enabling them to conduct cutting edge research though heavily distributed government research institutions to a high number of organisations that help them tackle foreign markets and opportunities). If you're not into these things it's challenging, but as a student i see the different paths and institutions helping the more german subjects like chemistry or building engineer.

cplanas 10y ago

> Many countries (Italy, Spain) don't have functioning stock markets at all. Is there some kind of irony in this comment that I am not getting? I mean, both countries have fully functioning stock markets. The main index for the Spanish stock market is IBEX35 and the Italian is the FTSE MIB.

tormeh 10y ago
They have stock exchanges, but ordinary companies don't list there. It's mostly just big banks and similar.