3 ms·

How does that translate to software startups? I haven't seen many on HN, for whatever that means.

workhere-io 13y ago
Skype started in Denmark, as did Bitbucket, Zendesk, Podio, Unity, SteelSeries, AppHarbor, Tradeshift, Endomondo, Iconfinder, Momondo, TrustPilot and many others (http://starrt.dk/startups http://starrt.dk/startups). European software startups that need a huge infusion of capital tend to move some of their business to Silicon Valley while sometimes maintaining a development department back home (e.g., Unity is now headquartered in San Francisco while having its chief development department in Copenhagen, AFAIK).
- throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
  Wow that's a long list! edit: I count 249 startups, https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9529391 https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9529391
Symmetry 13y ago
I'd be very cautious about running a software startup in Denmark. If you succeed great, but Denmark doesn't have the sort of easy bankruptcy laws the US has and you have to pay your employees 6 months wages if you go under. So if your startup fails you might be in debt for the rest of your life.
- workhere-io 13y ago
  Denmark doesn't have the sort of easy bankruptcy laws the US has Lots of Danish companies go bankrupt without it affecting the personal finances of the owners. It all depends on the kind of company you form. you have to pay your employees 6 months wages if you go under. Source? AFAIK, as long as your business is alive and well you pay a small amount of money each month to an organization which will make sure that if you go bankrupt, your employees will get paid anyway. This means you don't have to pay anything if you go bankrupt. https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/Pages/Compensation-if-employer-is-bankrupt.aspx https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/Pages/Compensation-if-employ...
- throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
  Denmark has some of the shortest bankruptcies in Europe: http://www.economist.com/node/21559618 http://www.economist.com/node/21559618 (middle of the article, graph titled "Life Sentences") https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4589291 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4589291

Skype started in Denmark, as did Bitbucket, Zendesk, Podio, Unity, SteelSeries, AppHarbor, Tradeshift, Endomondo, Iconfinder, Momondo, TrustPilot and many others (http://starrt.dk/startups http://starrt.dk/startups). European software startups that need a huge infusion of capital tend to move some of their business to Silicon Valley while sometimes maintaining a development department back home (e.g., Unity is now headquartered in San Francisco while having its chief development department in Copenhagen, AFAIK).

throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
Wow that's a long list! edit: I count 249 startups, https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9529391 https://gist.github.com/anonymous/9529391

Symmetry 13y ago

I'd be very cautious about running a software startup in Denmark. If you succeed great, but Denmark doesn't have the sort of easy bankruptcy laws the US has and you have to pay your employees 6 months wages if you go under. So if your startup fails you might be in debt for the rest of your life.

workhere-io 13y ago
Denmark doesn't have the sort of easy bankruptcy laws the US has Lots of Danish companies go bankrupt without it affecting the personal finances of the owners. It all depends on the kind of company you form. you have to pay your employees 6 months wages if you go under. Source? AFAIK, as long as your business is alive and well you pay a small amount of money each month to an organization which will make sure that if you go bankrupt, your employees will get paid anyway. This means you don't have to pay anything if you go bankrupt. https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/Pages/Compensation-if-employer-is-bankrupt.aspx https://lifeindenmark.borger.dk/Pages/Compensation-if-employ...
throwaway_yy2Di 13y ago
Denmark has some of the shortest bankruptcies in Europe: http://www.economist.com/node/21559618 http://www.economist.com/node/21559618 (middle of the article, graph titled "Life Sentences") https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4589291 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4589291