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While I think that supporting startups is a good idea, creating a campus without a nearby network of rich investors is like sowing seeds in sand. I've been part
by wrren 10y ago
While I think that supporting startups is a good idea, creating a campus without a nearby network of rich investors is like sowing seeds in sand. I've been part of more than one startup in Europe and it is far more difficult to secure early-stage investment than in SF. Until Europe has an equivalent VC presence, SF will always have the edge. I hope that this campus will attract that sort of attention from investors but we have a long way to go.
- trendia 10y agoThe lack of VC funding might change the incentives for startups for the better. Rather than build a startup to raise funding, they might build a startup to sell products.
- degif 10y agoThis and also if that campus is active promoting itself (meetups, hackatons, events, accelerators…), the VC's will come over themselves – they need the talent. Europe is small and geographically that's really not a problem.
- wrren 10y agoThere are plenty of SF startups (and full-sized companies like Twitter etc.) that never make a profit. But startups in SF that can make a profit will still win out over European equivalents since they're granted such huge runways to perfect their product before they're under pressure to go to market. I agree that the incentive system for startups right now is broken, as so many are simply aiming for an IPO before they're exposed as jokes but there's an inherent advantage to being in SF for any type of fledgling tech business.
- pj_mukh 10y ago"perfect their product before they're under pressure to go to market." This maybe the wrong way to think about it. Outside of hard-tech I see very few companies that are benefitted by building in a void. Though your larger point still stands, once you have product market fit, the funding regime in SF gives an unfair advantage to companies that know how to use it for their particular domains.
- jt2190 10y agoRestricting access to funding will exclude companies that are capital intensive. This means that rather than incubate, say, a company seeking to build technology related to the "smart" electrical grid (time-horizon ten years minimum) we'd see incubation of things like greeting card companies. (Mature market, very little risk.)
- pyrale 10y agoIn Paris, you can get good senior developers for $100-150k, all inclusive. This includes job loss protection, health care, and the founders can keep their jobless allocation for the first couple of years of starting their company. Also the investment tissue has considerably developped, the funding stages become a pain mostly at series C. Honestly, I would be surprised if there is no VC development.
- RhodesianHunter 10y agoI'm an American senior developer who also happens to be fluent in French. I would kill to work in Paris, but every time I have looked the rates for senior engineers were 1/3 what you're describing and there's no way I'm moving for that.
- mseebach 10y ago150k is the fully loaded all inclusive cost (and in France, that a lot of inclusive) to the employer, so 50k being the salary part is consistent with that.
- abolibibelot 10y agoFor senior developers in Paris the median may be around 50-60, (most of software engineer jobs are in consultancies) but there are tech companies that pay up to twice as much . I know mine does, and is looking for developers from all around the world, if you're interested :)
- user5994461 10y agoObviously. You are at Criteo? I don't think it's fair to say "there are" when "there IS" only a single company that pays this kind of money in Paris.
- stymaar 10y agoMurex, eFront, Theodo, Smart AdServer, SAP, Streamroot, Klee Group … Basically all the companies I know someone in pays this kind of salary to people with 3 to 5 years of experience ! Are we really living in the same city ?