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It's not the funding that is the problem. Europeans have no need for Silicon Valley. Most of Europe is technologically conservative and averse to trying out ne
by return0 13y ago
It's not the funding that is the problem.
Europeans have no need for Silicon Valley. Most of Europe is technologically conservative and averse to trying out new stuff, in a way that other audiences are not. Governments will go at great lengths to make sure that the law forbids any entrepreneurial action that threatens the status quo in just about anything. In other words, severe and chronic risk aversion from both the entrepreneurs, their audience and the regulatory environment.
Would companies like Airbnb, Uber, Facebook, Snapchat be ever able to grow if they had targeted Europeans?
How many of you european entrepreneurs here actually target primarily the European market or expect to grow in it?
- kjjw 13y agoAbsolute nonsense.
- amenghra 13y agoFrance has been hurting entrepreneurs in various ways. E.g. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/global-observer/is-france-about-to-hinder-its-entrepreneurs/ http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/global-observer/is-france-ab... I'm not sure risk aversion is always the core reason, but there is often a lack of understanding from gov & people. In Europe, you also need to market your products to a very diverse market (dozens of European languages, different social standards in different countries, etc.). In USA, the market is more homogenous.
- richardjordan 13y agoCare to turn that into a coherent argument? These views are hardly unusual, and many Europeans share them.
- qwerta 13y agoNonsense. Smaller governments are always willing to try something new (Estonia, Slovakia), we can vote or have referendum online. Larger follow pretty fast (Germany recognizes bitcoin as currency...) Also it is very common for american start-up to fix something broken in america. Uber is good example, most EU taxi services are well regulated, cheap and easy to start with. That is why Uber is not so popular in EU.