Well... I'm definitely older and had a safe business plan :-) I don't see that as being hostile to startups, though. I suppose if we remove the pejorative lan

Well... I'm definitely older and had a safe business plan :-) I don't see that as being hostile to startups, though. I suppose if we remove the pejorative language, then I can understand better. There is definitely a different set of values, so different kinds of startups will be built here. Interestingly, one of the reasons I decided not to open a brewery is similar to frustrations I've heard about in the west. You can't (or couldn't -- I think these laws are in the process of being changed) build a really small brewery legally. You had to produce at least 600 hl a year. I couldn't self-finance that kind of operation (I might be able to brew that quantity, but there is no way I would have time to sell it). I would have no trouble raising up to $1M but nobody willing to fund that is looking for a modest return. They want to see expansion plans right off the bat. So this means having plans to build a large factory in the next 10 years. I like brewing beer. I don't want to organise a large industrial factory :-) Probably the same reason I'm still a programmer and not running my own startup...