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The law of jante is slightly esoteric and so everyone feels the need to bring it up when the Scandinavian tech scene is discussed, just to show they are in the
by Expez 13y ago
The law of jante is slightly esoteric and so everyone feels the need to bring it up when the Scandinavian tech scene is discussed, just to show they are in the know. Nobody in a position to do a startup gives a shit about the law of jante. Neither is an investor going to turn away from a pile of money while muttering under his breath 'who does he think he is?'
Of all the people I know that could have done a startup, the main reason they did not is because the alternative is so good. Everyone in my class (5 years of computer engineering) who bothered with early interviews, had a job lined up 9 months prior to graduation. Even my mediocre classmates were being courted by multiple companies. Starting salary in Oslo is $80k, about 60k more than what a typical student lives off in Norway.
- lobster_johnson 13y agoAbsolutely. Diametrically opposed to the law of Jante is the fact that Norway has had, for many years, a strong entrepreneurial spirit; being a founder (gründer) of a small business is seen as a point of pride, whether it's a novel scientific invention or a "mom and pop" store selling hand-made goods. I think it's something that resonates with the self-image/myth of Norwegians being hardy pioneers, going back to Amundsen racing Scott to the North Pole and so on. (The book mentioned in the article refers to Vikings, so there is that, too.)
- adventured 13y agoMost entrepreneurs I know, myself included, aren't attracted first by money. The ability to make money is a follow-on consequence. $80k isn't even remotely enough to coax away a serious entrepreneur these days. Silicon Valley engineers can make that trivially, and it has done nothing to slow down the formation of startups. And besides, there's no salary you could ever make that will pay off better than a successful startup will. Know how long it takes to save just $3 million at $100k per year, accounting for taxes?
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]