4 ms·

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

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.

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.