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>because a common hallmark of the successful / venture-backed startups in the UK (you seem to conflate the two) is that they don't really go in for the bullshit

by m0a0t0 13y ago

>because a common hallmark of the successful / venture-backed startups in the UK (you seem to conflate the two) is that they don't really go in for the bullshit: networking, accelerators where you get a communal office and access to a shitty lawyer, ec. The good startups in the UK don't obsess over Tech City News or go to networking events with cold pizza and warm white wine. They work out whether there's an opportunity in a market, raise capital, and build things. So do you think that there's more of an emphasis on getting the product make or the job done than the start up/hacker culture side of things?

georgespencer 13y ago
> So do you think that there's more of an emphasis on getting the product make or the job done than the start up/hacker culture side of things? Sort of. I think there are fewer professional / institutional investors in the UK. It feels like there are more early stage startups in fewer spaces, too. So there's a really big "scene": Drinkabout, meetups, the various L*UGs (e.g. London Ruby User Group), the incubators (WAYRA, TechStars, Seedcamp), the offices (Tech Hub, Google Campus, Innovation Warehouse). Fuck, I went to an event at Bloomberg last year (probably the last wank networking thing I went to) where whoever the most recent government stooge told to gas about startups (without any credibility) was speaking authoritatively. In my experience, venture-backed startups mix in with other venture-backed startups. E.g. Smarkets/GoCardless/Rentify used to share a single floor at Royal London House (somehow!). Now Rentify is moving into WAYN's office as we're approaching 40 desks. So whereas when we were younger we were in environments where networking was forced on us because, fuck, it's a communal space and everyone is doing it, now we're not beholden to someone else's schedule. Whereas I phrased the point about good startups not doing networking events very poorly, I believe very strongly that the successful startups in London (and probably across the rest of the world) focus maniacally on one of growth, revenue, or raising capital. If you have two of those three you will get the third. I think people in the early stages of their startup can mistake hustle and networking as routes to all three, and it's usually bullshit.
- m0a0t0 13y ago
  Ok, thanks very much for expanding.

by m0a0t0 13y ago

georgespencer 13y ago

> So do you think that there's more of an emphasis on getting the product make or the job done than the start up/hacker culture side of things? Sort of. I think there are fewer professional / institutional investors in the UK. It feels like there are more early stage startups in fewer spaces, too. So there's a really big "scene": Drinkabout, meetups, the various L*UGs (e.g. London Ruby User Group), the incubators (WAYRA, TechStars, Seedcamp), the offices (Tech Hub, Google Campus, Innovation Warehouse). Fuck, I went to an event at Bloomberg last year (probably the last wank networking thing I went to) where whoever the most recent government stooge told to gas about startups (without any credibility) was speaking authoritatively. In my experience, venture-backed startups mix in with other venture-backed startups. E.g. Smarkets/GoCardless/Rentify used to share a single floor at Royal London House (somehow!). Now Rentify is moving into WAYN's office as we're approaching 40 desks. So whereas when we were younger we were in environments where networking was forced on us because, fuck, it's a communal space and everyone is doing it, now we're not beholden to someone else's schedule. Whereas I phrased the point about good startups not doing networking events very poorly, I believe very strongly that the successful startups in London (and probably across the rest of the world) focus maniacally on one of growth, revenue, or raising capital. If you have two of those three you will get the third. I think people in the early stages of their startup can mistake hustle and networking as routes to all three, and it's usually bullshit.

m0a0t0 13y ago
Ok, thanks very much for expanding.