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Disclaimer: I am not American. I have spent a total of 3 years in American corporate colonies in my country, and probably 3 times as much operating at various r

by YouWhy 2y ago

Disclaimer: I am not American. I have spent a total of 3 years in American corporate colonies in my country, and probably 3 times as much operating at various roles in local startups, many of which had major American funding. I observe that even for the most capable Americans, operating a startup is at best a phase. Across the general public, it is not considered prestigious vocation. Of course, academic stars can do so, but very often that's as a side gig (unlike Big Tech, which is a valid extension of one's academic career). And for people who could both work in tech and e.g. finance, working in tech is the odd choice. Since founding is premised on operating and having operating experience, a direct corollary is that extraordinary circumstances are needed for an American to be a participating founder (as opposed to e.g., throwing in the funding). P.S.: Even if they are "special", the sheer size of the US leads to an abundance of indigenous founders. It's just that in my society, being a founder is a universally aspired role, whereas this appears not to be the case for US-born Americans.

vasco 2y ago
This is not a difference in countries but in the age of money in the family line and what parents tell kids they should value. There's a natural transition from doing well at business in one generation to then shift the family focus to policy be it in politics, philanthropy, or technical (mostly law and finance) roles of prestige in the bureaucracy (ie SEC, district attorney office) which are roles that you can swing for if you don't care about money. If the kids revolt against this they'll do the same low reward / high prestige move except they'll try to impress their friends instead of their family, and go into art.
rayiner 2y ago
The mid-20th century completely hollowed out American culture, and immigrants benefit from not having been exposed to that. The people who invented the internet now need a stream of Indians and Chinese to run it so they can share instas.

by YouWhy 2y ago

vasco 2y ago

This is not a difference in countries but in the age of money in the family line and what parents tell kids they should value. There's a natural transition from doing well at business in one generation to then shift the family focus to policy be it in politics, philanthropy, or technical (mostly law and finance) roles of prestige in the bureaucracy (ie SEC, district attorney office) which are roles that you can swing for if you don't care about money. If the kids revolt against this they'll do the same low reward / high prestige move except they'll try to impress their friends instead of their family, and go into art.

rayiner 2y ago

The mid-20th century completely hollowed out American culture, and immigrants benefit from not having been exposed to that. The people who invented the internet now need a stream of Indians and Chinese to run it so they can share instas.