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> The problem is that Europe lacks any serious alternative As long as software engineers continue to make 1/3 of what they do in the US and founders get taxed

> The problem is that Europe lacks any serious alternative As long as software engineers continue to make 1/3 of what they do in the US and founders get taxed at over 50% on their companies, this problem will continue. It is entirely self inflicted.

MichaelCollins 4y ago
European tech companies complying with European regulations won't be able to compete with American companies that flaunt European regulations until they hold those American companies accountable and deny them access to the European market if they can't play by European rules. Enforcement of these regulations against American corporations will give the European software industry more room to breath.
- ceeplusplus 4y ago
  I don't think GDPR and the like are the reason Europe has failed to produce anywhere near the amount of successful software companies that the US and China have. It is not hard to locate a datacenter in Europe or provide a button to delete your data or display a cookie popup. In the grand scheme of things very few users use the delete button anyways, so the loss of data is immaterial. There is a massive brain drain from European schools and companies to the US (has been going for 20+ years now). If you look at the makeup of any top ranked school in the US, their MBA and STEM programs are at least 30-50% European immigrants. MBA programs in particular are overwhelmingly European immigrants. You have to ask yourself - what prompts so many people to get up and leave rather than try to build something at home? Tax policy? Lack of work ethic in the culture at home [1]? Excessive red tape for starting a business? Lack of respect for technical workers vs. managers? All of these are things to consider. You don't create a winner by working 32 hours a week, that's for sure. Like pg said in his blog [2], you win by moving faster than everyone else. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/europeans-work-less-short-workweek-employment-pandemic-11657889680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/europeans-work-less-short-workw...? [2] http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html
  - kramerger 4y ago
    Your post of full of prejudices. I won't address those part, but > You don't create a winner by working 32 hours a week, that's for sure. Like pg said in his blog [2], you win by moving faster than everyone else. You can definitely get more done if you are not stressed out, think through things and move a bit slower but always in the right direction. You learn that first time you end up at a company that forces you to work 75 hrs/w just because they can buy everyone can clearly see it is not leading to anything other than more bugs. Most EU companies have 40 hrs/w with occasional periods of 50-60. I think it is a good balance where you get things done and don't burn out your employees.
adra 4y ago
Or put differently, the EU wants to set a reasonable standard of living for their citizens and need to also compete against race to the bottom nations like China and the US without effective use of tariffs, so yeah not so effective.
justahuman74 4y ago
If the EU starts insisting on EU-only software, that could spark a talent war from the companies trying to serve that market, raising wages

MichaelCollins 4y ago

European tech companies complying with European regulations won't be able to compete with American companies that flaunt European regulations until they hold those American companies accountable and deny them access to the European market if they can't play by European rules. Enforcement of these regulations against American corporations will give the European software industry more room to breath.

ceeplusplus 4y ago
I don't think GDPR and the like are the reason Europe has failed to produce anywhere near the amount of successful software companies that the US and China have. It is not hard to locate a datacenter in Europe or provide a button to delete your data or display a cookie popup. In the grand scheme of things very few users use the delete button anyways, so the loss of data is immaterial. There is a massive brain drain from European schools and companies to the US (has been going for 20+ years now). If you look at the makeup of any top ranked school in the US, their MBA and STEM programs are at least 30-50% European immigrants. MBA programs in particular are overwhelmingly European immigrants. You have to ask yourself - what prompts so many people to get up and leave rather than try to build something at home? Tax policy? Lack of work ethic in the culture at home [1]? Excessive red tape for starting a business? Lack of respect for technical workers vs. managers? All of these are things to consider. You don't create a winner by working 32 hours a week, that's for sure. Like pg said in his blog [2], you win by moving faster than everyone else. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/europeans-work-less-short-workweek-employment-pandemic-11657889680 https://www.wsj.com/articles/europeans-work-less-short-workw...? [2] http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html
- kramerger 4y ago
  Your post of full of prejudices. I won't address those part, but > You don't create a winner by working 32 hours a week, that's for sure. Like pg said in his blog [2], you win by moving faster than everyone else. You can definitely get more done if you are not stressed out, think through things and move a bit slower but always in the right direction. You learn that first time you end up at a company that forces you to work 75 hrs/w just because they can buy everyone can clearly see it is not leading to anything other than more bugs. Most EU companies have 40 hrs/w with occasional periods of 50-60. I think it is a good balance where you get things done and don't burn out your employees.

adra 4y ago

Or put differently, the EU wants to set a reasonable standard of living for their citizens and need to also compete against race to the bottom nations like China and the US without effective use of tariffs, so yeah not so effective.

justahuman74 4y ago

If the EU starts insisting on EU-only software, that could spark a talent war from the companies trying to serve that market, raising wages