3 ms·
There is no FAANGs in France because France is part the EU, and the anti-trust laws try to protect competition between smaller actors spread in 27 countries. I
by phtrivier 5y ago
There is no FAANGs in France because France is part the EU, and the anti-trust laws try to protect competition between smaller actors spread in 27 countries.
It can be argued whether it's good or bad (people keep asking for 'the Airbus of X' while the Commission plays its part and prevent such actors from emerging.)
However, as usual, don't placate US expectations on other parts of the world.
You would not say that Michigan needs to create a culture of education, because all the FAANGs are in California.
Also, the financing culture (and maybe structure ?) seems to prevent the pretendo-valuations of "unicorns". I guess companies here have to go to such extremes as "making products that earn money". Yuck.
I'm curious what would qualify as a "startup-scene" for you, though ? I'm living in a tech-hub in France, so I can tell you there are startups, but what is your threshold for a "scene" ? Number of employee ? Size of campuses ? Number of meetups ?
- lotsofpulp 5y agoFAANGs are FAANGs because of the possibilities of immense profit margins and cash flow due to computing power and automation offering near zero marginal costs. There are a lot more people with money that speak English than French, so it’s almost inevitable that best strategy is to start with the English speaking markets. Once you hit it big there, there’s no stopping you worldwide. Except China, who also has a ton of rich people.
- phtrivier 5y agoI agree for some of the faangs (google who has to deal with contents in multiple language, Facebook maybe ?) ; However I'm not sure a french customer is costing that much more to Amazon because of i18n. Regulations, that petty thing about "paying taxes", etc... are probably stronger factor.