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Could you explain what you mean by the "economics" holding them back? Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. If

Could you explain what you mean by the "economics" holding them back? Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. If they can't figure out how to get the attention of an investor then they probably wouldn't be a great entrepreneur.

lghh 9y ago
> Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. This is an incredibly untrue statement.
- TheAdamAndChe 9y ago
  To expand upon this statement, social mobility has been on the decline[1] at a time when income inequality in the US is reaching unparalleled levels[2]. Childhood poverty is on the rise[3], and regional inequality is incredible[4]. All this is occurring at a time when the best and brightest young people are ending up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to be able to enter the workforce. All this is why small business creation is on the decline here.[5] It takes money to make money, and the lower and middle classes just don't have money to spare. edit: To those downvoting me, can you please explain? I don't understand the flaw(s) in my statement. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_Unite... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#Child_poverty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#C... [4] https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2012/08/07/regional-inequality-and-the-new-geography-of-jobs/ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2012/08/07/regiona... [5] http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/news/economy/us-startups-near-40-year-low/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/news/economy/us-startups-nea...
- notyourday 9y ago
  This is absolutely correct. If the 'foreign entrepreneur' is rich then he or she does not need VC help to immigrate into the United States. I know a few - it just requires being able to get in via O visa, which is easy for a rich person[1]. So this means that the foreign entrepreneur in question is not rich. A non-rich foreign entrepreneur is unlikely to have the kind of salary that allows one to throw money at the problem to make inconveniences of switching countries go away: 1. Establishing personal credit, bank accounts, dealing with financial institutions, insurance etc 2. Getting state issued drivers license and dealing with Government 3. Getting an apartment 4. Developing a quick understanding of good v. bad areas, social norms (poor person with terrible habits is an asshole. Rich person with the same habits is eccentric ), etc [1] Edit: In a response to the comment below - lets define "rich" as someone with a few million in assets with a million of that being liquid.
  - htormey 9y ago
    For those not in the know, here is the definition of an O Visa is: "An O visa is a classification of non-immigrant temporary worker visa granted by the United States to an alien "who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements," " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_visa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_visa I don't think this is quite as easy to obtain as the parent implies as you need to have a reputation & have money to pull it off. Not just any rich person will be able to do this without spending a bunch of time cultivating the former. The people I know who have gotten this visa had quite a long history of published (news papers, journals, etc) achievements. It was also very stressful for them as at any stage in the process the government could decide that their achievements were not significant enough and pull the plug on their application.
htormey 9y ago
" Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. " I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. I come from Ireland where I received a 4 year degree in CS for free. Most of the Americans I worked with over the years are saddled with huge amounts of college debt. This is a massive advantage in my favor. Having to spend 4-6 years waiting for a green card so I can start my own company is a massive disadvantage. Having to deal with the annoying vagaries of the US immigration system just to get a job is also a massive disadvantage. Coming from a country that has good free high school education is a massive advantage compared to most places in the USA. Having parents who are financially well off and can support you while you are in school is a massive advantage. Having parents who went to university and can tell you the difference between schools or guide you through the byzantine application processes are massive advantages.
- anindha 9y ago
  Many students here receive financial aid - 69% of Stanford undergraduates [1]. [1] http://news.stanford.edu/2016/02/25/tuition-financial-aid-022516/ http://news.stanford.edu/2016/02/25/tuition-financial-aid-02...
  - htormey 9y ago
    Sure, Stanford, Harvard & many top tier universities provide financial aid. I think that's awesome and to be encouraged. Getting into those institutions or being even aware of them is another matter. The disadvantages that many American's face start way downstream in high school, etc. If you don't have parents who have gone to college before or go to a school with good teachers, you probably won't even know to apply to a top tier school. A common theme that I have seen amongst my friends who have gone to Stanford/Berkeley/etc is that their parents had them doing extracurricular activities from a very young age to pad their entrance letters. Poorer families, have less resources and hence less time to engage in activities like this. Just getting into Stanford or a top US college requires an incredible amount of work above and beyond good grades. I have a very good friend who charge's $200 an hour to put together college application letters for top schools. Income inequality in the USA is a huge disadvantage that many Americans face. I'm not saying that income inequality is not an issue many immigrants don't face. I'm just particularly aware of it coming from a country (Ireland) that has good social benefits, like free healthcare, educations, etc. I think these things put me at an advantage compared to what many of my American peers had to go through.
taysic 9y ago
I'm not sure about the details of this exact program but if someone who wants to come live in America, that means there is an added "value" to this program that the VC's don't have to pay for. I'm using the H1B program in mind here. Those people will possibly be more negotiable and possibly willing to take deals that others wouldn't for the same or less amount of money - simply because there is an added factor to the arrangement.

lghh 9y ago

> Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. This is an incredibly untrue statement.

TheAdamAndChe 9y ago
To expand upon this statement, social mobility has been on the decline[1] at a time when income inequality in the US is reaching unparalleled levels[2]. Childhood poverty is on the rise[3], and regional inequality is incredible[4]. All this is occurring at a time when the best and brightest young people are ending up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt just to be able to enter the workforce. All this is why small business creation is on the decline here.[5] It takes money to make money, and the lower and middle classes just don't have money to spare. edit: To those downvoting me, can you please explain? I don't understand the flaw(s) in my statement. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_inequality_in_the_Unite... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#Child_poverty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_States#C... [4] https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2012/08/07/regional-inequality-and-the-new-geography-of-jobs/ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2012/08/07/regiona... [5] http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/news/economy/us-startups-near-40-year-low/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/news/economy/us-startups-nea...
notyourday 9y ago
This is absolutely correct. If the 'foreign entrepreneur' is rich then he or she does not need VC help to immigrate into the United States. I know a few - it just requires being able to get in via O visa, which is easy for a rich person[1]. So this means that the foreign entrepreneur in question is not rich. A non-rich foreign entrepreneur is unlikely to have the kind of salary that allows one to throw money at the problem to make inconveniences of switching countries go away: 1. Establishing personal credit, bank accounts, dealing with financial institutions, insurance etc 2. Getting state issued drivers license and dealing with Government 3. Getting an apartment 4. Developing a quick understanding of good v. bad areas, social norms (poor person with terrible habits is an asshole. Rich person with the same habits is eccentric ), etc [1] Edit: In a response to the comment below - lets define "rich" as someone with a few million in assets with a million of that being liquid.
- htormey 9y ago
  For those not in the know, here is the definition of an O Visa is: "An O visa is a classification of non-immigrant temporary worker visa granted by the United States to an alien "who possesses extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or who has a demonstrated record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry and has been recognized nationally or internationally for those achievements," " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_visa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_visa I don't think this is quite as easy to obtain as the parent implies as you need to have a reputation & have money to pull it off. Not just any rich person will be able to do this without spending a bunch of time cultivating the former. The people I know who have gotten this visa had quite a long history of published (news papers, journals, etc) achievements. It was also very stressful for them as at any stage in the process the government could decide that their achievements were not significant enough and pull the plug on their application.

htormey 9y ago

" Someone living here starts off in a much better position than any foreign entrepreneur. " I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that. I come from Ireland where I received a 4 year degree in CS for free. Most of the Americans I worked with over the years are saddled with huge amounts of college debt. This is a massive advantage in my favor. Having to spend 4-6 years waiting for a green card so I can start my own company is a massive disadvantage. Having to deal with the annoying vagaries of the US immigration system just to get a job is also a massive disadvantage. Coming from a country that has good free high school education is a massive advantage compared to most places in the USA. Having parents who are financially well off and can support you while you are in school is a massive advantage. Having parents who went to university and can tell you the difference between schools or guide you through the byzantine application processes are massive advantages.

anindha 9y ago
Many students here receive financial aid - 69% of Stanford undergraduates [1]. [1] http://news.stanford.edu/2016/02/25/tuition-financial-aid-022516/ http://news.stanford.edu/2016/02/25/tuition-financial-aid-02...
- htormey 9y ago
  Sure, Stanford, Harvard & many top tier universities provide financial aid. I think that's awesome and to be encouraged. Getting into those institutions or being even aware of them is another matter. The disadvantages that many American's face start way downstream in high school, etc. If you don't have parents who have gone to college before or go to a school with good teachers, you probably won't even know to apply to a top tier school. A common theme that I have seen amongst my friends who have gone to Stanford/Berkeley/etc is that their parents had them doing extracurricular activities from a very young age to pad their entrance letters. Poorer families, have less resources and hence less time to engage in activities like this. Just getting into Stanford or a top US college requires an incredible amount of work above and beyond good grades. I have a very good friend who charge's $200 an hour to put together college application letters for top schools. Income inequality in the USA is a huge disadvantage that many Americans face. I'm not saying that income inequality is not an issue many immigrants don't face. I'm just particularly aware of it coming from a country (Ireland) that has good social benefits, like free healthcare, educations, etc. I think these things put me at an advantage compared to what many of my American peers had to go through.

taysic 9y ago

I'm not sure about the details of this exact program but if someone who wants to come live in America, that means there is an added "value" to this program that the VC's don't have to pay for. I'm using the H1B program in mind here. Those people will possibly be more negotiable and possibly willing to take deals that others wouldn't for the same or less amount of money - simply because there is an added factor to the arrangement.