6 ms·

Benefits of basing your startup in Scotland

55 points by mdhayes 14y ago

rayz 14y ago
I could say exactly the same about Ireland, especially the west, a great place to live and the government are very supportive of startups
- diminish 14y ago
  which city particularly in the west?
  - Juniper 14y ago
    Well Galway is generally regarded as a good place to live, if you don't mind lashings of rain.
  - rmc 14y ago
    ... its a stretch (by international standards) to say there are cities in the west of Ireland.
- mhd 14y ago
  I've been working in Cork a couple of years ago (callcenter…), and wasn't too excited about the living conditions. Very high rent for pretty bad apartments, and the city itself was a pretty bad mix between some money spent on the inner city and pretty rundown estates all around. Granted, once you leave the city, it's gorgeous…
  - rmc 14y ago
    Remember the Irish property bubble bust around 2007. Prices have come down a bit since then (current stats have houses worth half what they used to be). Rent has decreased a little, but not that much.
    - mhd 14y ago
      On the other hand, a financial crisis probably won't make for a more enjoyable cityscape. But given that I was there 2003, the property bubble might have improved the architecture of the city a bit before it burst… Total cost of living was pretty high, and I'm coming from one of the more expensive regions in Europe. I'll definitely have to visit again. A callcenter job and depressed Scandinavian roomates probably colored my impressions a bit…
- smcl 14y ago
  Ireland is a bit more expensive (salaries + living expenses) than Scotland though, isn't it? I am just basing this on what I remember from being in Ireland a few years back, and on being from Scotland.
- barry-cotter 14y ago
  He lies!!! The weather is crap, the minimal acceptable standard of food is lower than anywhere else in Western Europe except Britain (on a par) and it's quite expensive to live anywhere considering what you get out of it, whether in the West (where the weather is bad from even an Irish POV) or in Dublin (the capital and Ireland's only credible claim on a city). If I ever move back to Europe I'm heading to Berlin. Ireland's weather is awful and it's depressing as hell to be in a country where everyone is leaving.
  - deleted 14y ago
    [deleted]
- rmc 14y ago
  One problem with being out west is that it can be hard to find staff. Even in Dublin its hard to find staff. You may need to pay someone lots to get them to move to Ballygobackwards.
szymzet 14y ago
Is the benefit a constant "Error establishing a database connection"?
martinwnet 14y ago
It's great to see Scotland mentioned here on HN. For a country with a rich, celebrated history of inventions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discoveries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discove...), it would be wonderful if we could eventually see a start-up culture like they have in NY/SF. Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? -- Edit: As a developer from Glasgow I find it hard to find interesting start-ups. If any happen to be reading, I'd love to hear from you: <shamelessPlug>http://martinw.net http://martinw.net </shamelessPlug>
- ktizo 14y ago
  Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? too late, I'm afraid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Glen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Glen
  - justincormack 14y ago
    That's not where the startups are it dates back many years.
    - ktizo 14y ago
      It is generally where the startups are, but only because it also just describes the area where ~90% of the people in Scotland live.
- jarofgreen 14y ago
  > Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? How about this? :-) http://www.scotsman.com/business/technology/internet-start-up-community-the-dawning-of-a-new-age-in-edinbrgh-1-2359389 http://www.scotsman.com/business/technology/internet-start-u... "A NEW technology strip, dubbed the “Silicon bridges”, is emerging in the centre of Edinburgh as the city becomes a hotspot for internet start-ups." (Although I'm amused to see they still haven't corrected the typo in the place name in the headline.) > Edit: As a developer from Glasgow I find it hard to find interesting start-ups. Try hanging out at the tech events around town <shamelessPlug> - see details on http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php (Disclaimer: that's my project).</shamelessPlug>
ig1 14y ago
The article makes the mistake of equating universities with talent pool. Scotland has a much smaller talent pool of developers than many other countries and that's a fundamental bottleneck for any startup.
- theallan 14y ago
  I must admit I don't see the problem with equating universities with a talent pool. Could you elaborate on why that would be wrong? It isn't always true, but it is a reasonable assumption that graduates are of a decent calibre. I would fully agree that a university education is not required in order to be considered talented (some of the most talented people I know didn't attend university), but at the same time having a degree shows a certain level of ability. If you have a CS degree, you should at least know your way around a computer, and the post-graduate research being done by universities is world leading. Being at the forefront of your field isn't talent, what is? (again acknowledging that this doesn't make those people product geniuses - a different form of talent!) Scotland has a much smaller talent pool of developers than many other countries Presumably only because the population is smaller than many other countries?
  - justincormack 14y ago
    Indeed and they are very good Universities. Haskell (the Glasgow Haskell Compiler ghc) was a product of there.
  - hyperbovine 14y ago
    Haven't you heard? Hating on a college education is all the rage these days.
- justincormack 14y ago
  Scotland has a smaller pool of people than many other places. But there are still plenty and people would relocate if there was more demand as the article says.
  - objclxt 14y ago
j_col 14y ago
Any thoughts on how possible Scottish independence might affect this?
- objclxt 14y ago
  Personally I don't see it affecting any of the five points raised: however, if you're looking to start a new business there may be some financial considerations. But to be honest, despite all the talk true independence is really quite a long way off, and certainly not until the EU financial situation has generally calmed down (so, a long way off!).
  - mooism2 14y ago
    Isn't Scotland holding in 2014 a referendum on independence from the UK?
    - rmc 14y ago
      Yeah sorta. There's a lot of details to be worked out. The main political party in the Scottish Parliament wants independence. But in the UK/Westminster Parliament (of which Scotland is a part), the Conservative ("Tory") government isn't so keen on the idea. There's going to be a lot of horsetrading and politicing over what the referendum will actually say, e.g. if there was 2 questions "Do you want independence? Yes/No If not, do you want Scotland to have more power Yes/No", then the Scottish independence people can almost win either way, if 50.00001% vote for independence, they can claim it, if not, but a majority say "more power", then they can claim more power for Scottish Parliament
    - lifeisstillgood 14y ago
      The Scottish National Party (ruling party in Scotland) is trying to hold it in the weeks just after the 700th anniversary of the greatest Scottish victory over the English at Bannockburn. It's unlikely they are hoping for a nationalistic fillip but more a negotiating position over the actual wording of the referendum - but it is an amusing bit of chutzpah and what one expects of the SNP leader :-)
  - 14y ago
aaronbasssett 14y ago
Scotland also a pretty active tech/meetup community. Living in Glasgow I'm mostly familiar with the ones which happen here, but if you're interested in tech startups or want to chat with some fellow geeks you should come along. Some of my favs are RefreshGla, RookieOven, Techmeetup and Popup Hack (which I organise) There are details and more events listed on http://glasgow2.com/ http://glasgow2.com/
- jarofgreen 14y ago
  Seconded, I organise Techmeetup and regularly visit Edinburgh Coffee Morning, Edinburgh Hacklab, Edinburgh Refresh and many others. I've just been helping others get 3 new meetups going (PHP, Android & Open Rights Group) so it's looking great in Edinburgh. Don't let ppl tell you there is a Edinburgh vs Glasgow divide btw; it's only 50mins via trains that run late at night so it's easy to nip across for the evening. Also check out http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php - that has more Edinburgh events at the moment but it's very early days for this site and more are being added all the time. (Disclaimer: That's my project.)
  - mdhayes 14y ago
    Would have to disagree with you about the divide. To a lot of people (such as yourself) it's a non-issue however the majority are averse to travelling across the country (people in both cities). I can understand cost being a factor with it costing >£25 peak time to travel across the central belt. The number of people from the capital who have attended RookieOven meetup at least once over the past year is appalling. I get the feeling it's the same for TechMeetup, Refresh, Popup Hack and more.
    - jarofgreen 14y ago
      Cost is a factor, but if there's any way you catch the 4:30 train it drops to £12 which is much better. Or the bus has no peak time charge, but it takes longer. I guess I'd just like more people to think about it. To many people go "Glasgow/Edinburgh, eww" and set up a false divide without even considering if it's possible to head across. From what I've seen at Techmeetup (both Edinburgh & Glasgow) the number of travelers is small, but they are there.
markmm 14y ago
I am based and from Scotland (Glasgow). I have a startup that going to be looking for a first round of funding in the next few months, anyone had experience with this? Is there an equivalent Kickstarter for the U.K.?
- gordonguthrie 14y ago
  Lots of people - (more in Edinburgh). There is Entrepreneurial Spark in Glasgow http://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/ http://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/ and Rookie Oven of course. Scottish Lean Circle in Edinburgh https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/edleanstartup https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum...
  - markmm 14y ago
    These seem to be support groups or clubs rather than places to look for funding, I was thinking more Angel investors or crowd sourcing.
    - gordonguthrie 14y ago
      Yes, but we all know the investors, the angels, who to approach, who is funding, what you will need to get funded, how to apply to Seedcamp, etc, etc. Funding isn't just about 'ding, dong, gies some money'.
      - markmm 14y ago
        Ah right, I though I just sent a link to my system to a couple of rich dudes and my bank account would then become overflowing :-p Joking aside thanks for that, looks like a great way to lplug into the funding network.
nemesisj 14y ago
We're a startup in Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow) - (http://www.getadministrate.com http://www.getadministrate.com). This post annoyed me b/c I was just about to post about the advantages I see starting and running a business here :) The author misses quite a few of the main things that I find great about being in Scotland, although I do agree with the general thrust. Some thoughts about Scotland compared with the USA, having previously started and ran 3 companies there: - wages are very cheap here compared to the USA or even the South (England), and the talent is good. - It's easy to market to and service the USA (no huge timezone difference or language barrier and Americans like the Scottish accent). - there are already some incredible tax advantages (low capital gains) for startups, and more being pushed by the current government. - most funding seems to be done by angel syndicates in a public / private hybrid where both the gov and the angels share risk and reward. I much prefer the syndicate model to individuals as you get more structure and less hassle. - you don't need health insurance for employees, which removes a distraction and makes your job offer compete on a more level playing field when compared against a traditional large company - the tech community like the author pointed out is really good, particularly for the size - the quality of life here is AMAZING. Can't fully describe the benefits in a comment. - office space is currently very cheap - great public transport - easy to travel (for business and pleasure) to either EU or USA
- lazyjones 14y ago
  If wages are so cheap, doesn't that usually mean that real talent leaves to find better jobs in the USA or London or similar places? Is office space really that cheap in Edinburgh or other large cities?
  - jarofgreen 14y ago
    > If wages are so cheap, doesn't that usually mean that real talent leaves to find better jobs in the USA or London or similar places? The cost of living is cheaper and quality of life is usually considered better, so when making personal decisions about where to go it's not just a simple wages comparison.
  - delinka 14y ago
equivalence 14y ago
I kind of want to agree with most of the points but I think there also has to be a level of realism as to what kind of business Scotland can accommodate. For example, it's very unlikely that companies on the scale of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc, could ever grow to their current levels within Scotland. I think this for a few reasons. The first is that the VC funding is just not at the same levels as in the US. Secondly, the talent pool is way to small. As much as we like to think the presence of 4 universities in Glasgow alone must mean we are overflowing with people this just isn't the case, you are lucky if you have 40 final year students in a CS course, and maybe around 15% of them are actually "excellent", and the numbers have been decreasing over the years. I have at least 4 friends that were looking to recruit in the last month or so and each one has been despondent about the quality of the candidates. Then finally you are going to be in a dog fight with the large financial institutions that dominate the hiring of new grads. Graduates here are still relatively conservative in what kind of job they want. However, where I do think we can excel is in creating tech startups that don't focus so much on the consumer side of things. There are plenty of hard problems out there that don't necessarily need 300 million active users to make some money.
- markmm 14y ago
  Regarding the scaling issue, location is irrelevant nowadays. Anyone can create a massively scalable system using a laptop and an internet connection thanks to services like AWS. I'm sure if a startup looked as if it was becoming a global hist then it would relocate to the U.S. if it wasn't bought by an existing company there first.
junto 14y ago
Another great benefit is deep-fried Mars Bars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar
maxer 14y ago
Edinburgh is the place to be, although i live northern ireland- having been over for the recent fringe and talked to some imigrant workers, they couldnt be happier. A nice apartment would run you about £550/$800 a month which is a tad dear but its a great city with so much going on. A walk around the museum will show you a place that was built on inventions and innovation. only downside is the scottish climate
brightsize 14y ago
I'm an American (US) citizen, but OK, let's say I want to do my startup in Scotland. Is there a new "come to the UK and live here and do a startup for as long as it takes" visa that I'm not aware of? Country after country (I'm talking to you Canada) makes all kinds of noises about wanting startups to take root on their soil, but damned if they're going to let any foreigners come to help make it happen. So this article would be more aptly titled "Benefits of basing your startup in Scotland if you're a EU citizen or permanent resident already otherwise buzz off".

55 points by mdhayes 14y ago

rayz 14y ago

I could say exactly the same about Ireland, especially the west, a great place to live and the government are very supportive of startups

diminish 14y ago
which city particularly in the west?
- Juniper 14y ago
  Well Galway is generally regarded as a good place to live, if you don't mind lashings of rain.
- rmc 14y ago
  ... its a stretch (by international standards) to say there are cities in the west of Ireland.
mhd 14y ago
I've been working in Cork a couple of years ago (callcenter…), and wasn't too excited about the living conditions. Very high rent for pretty bad apartments, and the city itself was a pretty bad mix between some money spent on the inner city and pretty rundown estates all around. Granted, once you leave the city, it's gorgeous…
- rmc 14y ago
  Remember the Irish property bubble bust around 2007. Prices have come down a bit since then (current stats have houses worth half what they used to be). Rent has decreased a little, but not that much.
  - mhd 14y ago
    On the other hand, a financial crisis probably won't make for a more enjoyable cityscape. But given that I was there 2003, the property bubble might have improved the architecture of the city a bit before it burst… Total cost of living was pretty high, and I'm coming from one of the more expensive regions in Europe. I'll definitely have to visit again. A callcenter job and depressed Scandinavian roomates probably colored my impressions a bit…
smcl 14y ago
Ireland is a bit more expensive (salaries + living expenses) than Scotland though, isn't it? I am just basing this on what I remember from being in Ireland a few years back, and on being from Scotland.
barry-cotter 14y ago
He lies!!! The weather is crap, the minimal acceptable standard of food is lower than anywhere else in Western Europe except Britain (on a par) and it's quite expensive to live anywhere considering what you get out of it, whether in the West (where the weather is bad from even an Irish POV) or in Dublin (the capital and Ireland's only credible claim on a city). If I ever move back to Europe I'm heading to Berlin. Ireland's weather is awful and it's depressing as hell to be in a country where everyone is leaving.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
rmc 14y ago
One problem with being out west is that it can be hard to find staff. Even in Dublin its hard to find staff. You may need to pay someone lots to get them to move to Ballygobackwards.

szymzet 14y ago

Is the benefit a constant "Error establishing a database connection"?

martinwnet 14y ago

It's great to see Scotland mentioned here on HN. For a country with a rich, celebrated history of inventions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discoveries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_inventions_and_discove...), it would be wonderful if we could eventually see a start-up culture like they have in NY/SF. Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? -- Edit: As a developer from Glasgow I find it hard to find interesting start-ups. If any happen to be reading, I'd love to hear from you: <shamelessPlug>http://martinw.net http://martinw.net </shamelessPlug>

ktizo 14y ago
Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? too late, I'm afraid - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Glen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Glen
- justincormack 14y ago
  That's not where the startups are it dates back many years.
  - ktizo 14y ago
    It is generally where the startups are, but only because it also just describes the area where ~90% of the people in Scotland live.
jarofgreen 14y ago
> Can we please not call it Silicon Glen though? How about this? :-) http://www.scotsman.com/business/technology/internet-start-up-community-the-dawning-of-a-new-age-in-edinbrgh-1-2359389 http://www.scotsman.com/business/technology/internet-start-u... "A NEW technology strip, dubbed the “Silicon bridges”, is emerging in the centre of Edinburgh as the city becomes a hotspot for internet start-ups." (Although I'm amused to see they still haven't corrected the typo in the place name in the headline.) > Edit: As a developer from Glasgow I find it hard to find interesting start-ups. Try hanging out at the tech events around town <shamelessPlug> - see details on http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php (Disclaimer: that's my project).</shamelessPlug>

ig1 14y ago

The article makes the mistake of equating universities with talent pool. Scotland has a much smaller talent pool of developers than many other countries and that's a fundamental bottleneck for any startup.

theallan 14y ago
I must admit I don't see the problem with equating universities with a talent pool. Could you elaborate on why that would be wrong? It isn't always true, but it is a reasonable assumption that graduates are of a decent calibre. I would fully agree that a university education is not required in order to be considered talented (some of the most talented people I know didn't attend university), but at the same time having a degree shows a certain level of ability. If you have a CS degree, you should at least know your way around a computer, and the post-graduate research being done by universities is world leading. Being at the forefront of your field isn't talent, what is? (again acknowledging that this doesn't make those people product geniuses - a different form of talent!) Scotland has a much smaller talent pool of developers than many other countries Presumably only because the population is smaller than many other countries?
- justincormack 14y ago
  Indeed and they are very good Universities. Haskell (the Glasgow Haskell Compiler ghc) was a product of there.
- hyperbovine 14y ago
  Haven't you heard? Hating on a college education is all the rage these days.
justincormack 14y ago
Scotland has a smaller pool of people than many other places. But there are still plenty and people would relocate if there was more demand as the article says.
- objclxt 14y ago

j_col 14y ago

Any thoughts on how possible Scottish independence might affect this?

objclxt 14y ago
Personally I don't see it affecting any of the five points raised: however, if you're looking to start a new business there may be some financial considerations. But to be honest, despite all the talk true independence is really quite a long way off, and certainly not until the EU financial situation has generally calmed down (so, a long way off!).
- mooism2 14y ago
  Isn't Scotland holding in 2014 a referendum on independence from the UK?
  - rmc 14y ago
    Yeah sorta. There's a lot of details to be worked out. The main political party in the Scottish Parliament wants independence. But in the UK/Westminster Parliament (of which Scotland is a part), the Conservative ("Tory") government isn't so keen on the idea. There's going to be a lot of horsetrading and politicing over what the referendum will actually say, e.g. if there was 2 questions "Do you want independence? Yes/No If not, do you want Scotland to have more power Yes/No", then the Scottish independence people can almost win either way, if 50.00001% vote for independence, they can claim it, if not, but a majority say "more power", then they can claim more power for Scottish Parliament
  - lifeisstillgood 14y ago
    The Scottish National Party (ruling party in Scotland) is trying to hold it in the weeks just after the 700th anniversary of the greatest Scottish victory over the English at Bannockburn. It's unlikely they are hoping for a nationalistic fillip but more a negotiating position over the actual wording of the referendum - but it is an amusing bit of chutzpah and what one expects of the SNP leader :-)
- 14y ago

aaronbasssett 14y ago

Scotland also a pretty active tech/meetup community. Living in Glasgow I'm mostly familiar with the ones which happen here, but if you're interested in tech startups or want to chat with some fellow geeks you should come along. Some of my favs are RefreshGla, RookieOven, Techmeetup and Popup Hack (which I organise) There are details and more events listed on http://glasgow2.com/ http://glasgow2.com/

jarofgreen 14y ago
Seconded, I organise Techmeetup and regularly visit Edinburgh Coffee Morning, Edinburgh Hacklab, Edinburgh Refresh and many others. I've just been helping others get 3 new meetups going (PHP, Android & Open Rights Group) so it's looking great in Edinburgh. Don't let ppl tell you there is a Edinburgh vs Glasgow divide btw; it's only 50mins via trains that run late at night so it's easy to nip across for the evening. Also check out http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php http://opentechcalendar.co.uk/index.php - that has more Edinburgh events at the moment but it's very early days for this site and more are being added all the time. (Disclaimer: That's my project.)
- mdhayes 14y ago
  Would have to disagree with you about the divide. To a lot of people (such as yourself) it's a non-issue however the majority are averse to travelling across the country (people in both cities). I can understand cost being a factor with it costing >£25 peak time to travel across the central belt. The number of people from the capital who have attended RookieOven meetup at least once over the past year is appalling. I get the feeling it's the same for TechMeetup, Refresh, Popup Hack and more.
  - jarofgreen 14y ago
    Cost is a factor, but if there's any way you catch the 4:30 train it drops to £12 which is much better. Or the bus has no peak time charge, but it takes longer. I guess I'd just like more people to think about it. To many people go "Glasgow/Edinburgh, eww" and set up a false divide without even considering if it's possible to head across. From what I've seen at Techmeetup (both Edinburgh & Glasgow) the number of travelers is small, but they are there.

markmm 14y ago

I am based and from Scotland (Glasgow). I have a startup that going to be looking for a first round of funding in the next few months, anyone had experience with this? Is there an equivalent Kickstarter for the U.K.?

gordonguthrie 14y ago
Lots of people - (more in Edinburgh). There is Entrepreneurial Spark in Glasgow http://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/ http://www.entrepreneurial-spark.com/ and Rookie Oven of course. Scottish Lean Circle in Edinburgh https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum/edleanstartup https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups#!forum...
- markmm 14y ago
  These seem to be support groups or clubs rather than places to look for funding, I was thinking more Angel investors or crowd sourcing.
  - gordonguthrie 14y ago
    Yes, but we all know the investors, the angels, who to approach, who is funding, what you will need to get funded, how to apply to Seedcamp, etc, etc. Funding isn't just about 'ding, dong, gies some money'.
    - markmm 14y ago
      Ah right, I though I just sent a link to my system to a couple of rich dudes and my bank account would then become overflowing :-p Joking aside thanks for that, looks like a great way to lplug into the funding network.

nemesisj 14y ago

We're a startup in Scotland (Edinburgh and Glasgow) - (http://www.getadministrate.com http://www.getadministrate.com). This post annoyed me b/c I was just about to post about the advantages I see starting and running a business here :) The author misses quite a few of the main things that I find great about being in Scotland, although I do agree with the general thrust. Some thoughts about Scotland compared with the USA, having previously started and ran 3 companies there: - wages are very cheap here compared to the USA or even the South (England), and the talent is good. - It's easy to market to and service the USA (no huge timezone difference or language barrier and Americans like the Scottish accent). - there are already some incredible tax advantages (low capital gains) for startups, and more being pushed by the current government. - most funding seems to be done by angel syndicates in a public / private hybrid where both the gov and the angels share risk and reward. I much prefer the syndicate model to individuals as you get more structure and less hassle. - you don't need health insurance for employees, which removes a distraction and makes your job offer compete on a more level playing field when compared against a traditional large company - the tech community like the author pointed out is really good, particularly for the size - the quality of life here is AMAZING. Can't fully describe the benefits in a comment. - office space is currently very cheap - great public transport - easy to travel (for business and pleasure) to either EU or USA

lazyjones 14y ago
If wages are so cheap, doesn't that usually mean that real talent leaves to find better jobs in the USA or London or similar places? Is office space really that cheap in Edinburgh or other large cities?
- jarofgreen 14y ago
  > If wages are so cheap, doesn't that usually mean that real talent leaves to find better jobs in the USA or London or similar places? The cost of living is cheaper and quality of life is usually considered better, so when making personal decisions about where to go it's not just a simple wages comparison.
- delinka 14y ago

equivalence 14y ago

I kind of want to agree with most of the points but I think there also has to be a level of realism as to what kind of business Scotland can accommodate. For example, it's very unlikely that companies on the scale of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc, could ever grow to their current levels within Scotland. I think this for a few reasons. The first is that the VC funding is just not at the same levels as in the US. Secondly, the talent pool is way to small. As much as we like to think the presence of 4 universities in Glasgow alone must mean we are overflowing with people this just isn't the case, you are lucky if you have 40 final year students in a CS course, and maybe around 15% of them are actually "excellent", and the numbers have been decreasing over the years. I have at least 4 friends that were looking to recruit in the last month or so and each one has been despondent about the quality of the candidates. Then finally you are going to be in a dog fight with the large financial institutions that dominate the hiring of new grads. Graduates here are still relatively conservative in what kind of job they want. However, where I do think we can excel is in creating tech startups that don't focus so much on the consumer side of things. There are plenty of hard problems out there that don't necessarily need 300 million active users to make some money.

markmm 14y ago
Regarding the scaling issue, location is irrelevant nowadays. Anyone can create a massively scalable system using a laptop and an internet connection thanks to services like AWS. I'm sure if a startup looked as if it was becoming a global hist then it would relocate to the U.S. if it wasn't bought by an existing company there first.

junto 14y ago

Another great benefit is deep-fried Mars Bars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar

maxer 14y ago

Edinburgh is the place to be, although i live northern ireland- having been over for the recent fringe and talked to some imigrant workers, they couldnt be happier. A nice apartment would run you about £550/$800 a month which is a tad dear but its a great city with so much going on. A walk around the museum will show you a place that was built on inventions and innovation. only downside is the scottish climate

brightsize 14y ago

I'm an American (US) citizen, but OK, let's say I want to do my startup in Scotland. Is there a new "come to the UK and live here and do a startup for as long as it takes" visa that I'm not aware of? Country after country (I'm talking to you Canada) makes all kinds of noises about wanting startups to take root on their soil, but damned if they're going to let any foreigners come to help make it happen. So this article would be more aptly titled "Benefits of basing your startup in Scotland if you're a EU citizen or permanent resident already otherwise buzz off".