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Oh come on. Some comments from “italians” here are really disgusting. I’m Italian, live in Italy and run a startup here. I know A LOT of guys who run successful

Oh come on. Some comments from “italians” here are really disgusting. I’m Italian, live in Italy and run a startup here. I know A LOT of guys who run successful businesses here (not me, yet!), who don’t have to deal with mafia, corruption and mandolinos. Is it harder here than in some other countries? For sure. Are there issues with taxes, regulations, etc? Hell yes. BUT. It’s not impossible to build great companies in Italy. And you will be amazed to discover there are upsides too. Technical talent is great (because universities are great, despite all the shit people usually throw at them), and REALLY cheap. Also, talent retention is easier: finding good, rewarding jobs is hard here, so if you build a great company, with a compelling vision, people just stay with you. Quality of life MATTERS: good weather, food, having fun, have an incredible impact on how people work. Finally, there are opportunities. Since Italy, as a market, is far behind in so many areas, there’s plenty of space for startups to innovate and build businesses that have already been proven successful in other countries/markets. So, please, stop complaining. It’s hard everywhere. Somewhere it’s harder than somewhere else. But that’s it.

sklivvz1971 12y ago
"It’s not impossible to build great companies in Italy." Which great company was built in Italy in the last 10-20 years?
davidw 12y ago
> It’s not impossible to build great companies in Italy No, of course it isn't. But at the margin, it's more difficult, so if you have the chance, you should go elsewhere: I think Italy should get its own house a bit more in order before trying to attract people from other countries. They'll come naturally if Italy is a decent place to do business. It doesn't have to be perfect, because it has so many other nice things, it just has to suck less: California, for instance, is not the best US state to do business in, in terms of bureaucracy and taxation.
andrea_sdl 12y ago
I _totally_ second this comment. (disclaimer: I'm italian and I live and work in italy) I agree that Italy has a big fiscal pressure, but aside from that, the issue with mafia and corruption that keeps appearing into this topic is misleading, it makes people think that once you have a startup, mafia will come to you, and that's absolutely not true. I think there are only 2 main elements to keep in main when running a business in italy 1. Fiscal pressure 2. Bureaucracy They are the only blocks people opening a startup here might really need to figure out how to handle.
iolothebard 12y ago
You're an Italian, this is for people outside of Italy. Culture makes a big difference. Starting a company in other places is easier, this is likely why Italy is resorting to something like this to try to bring in more startups. Just because someone says the truths about the issues with Italian society, doesn't make them "disgusting". Reality can be harsh.

sklivvz1971 12y ago

"It’s not impossible to build great companies in Italy." Which great company was built in Italy in the last 10-20 years?

davidw 12y ago

> It’s not impossible to build great companies in Italy No, of course it isn't. But at the margin, it's more difficult, so if you have the chance, you should go elsewhere: I think Italy should get its own house a bit more in order before trying to attract people from other countries. They'll come naturally if Italy is a decent place to do business. It doesn't have to be perfect, because it has so many other nice things, it just has to suck less: California, for instance, is not the best US state to do business in, in terms of bureaucracy and taxation.

andrea_sdl 12y ago

I _totally_ second this comment. (disclaimer: I'm italian and I live and work in italy) I agree that Italy has a big fiscal pressure, but aside from that, the issue with mafia and corruption that keeps appearing into this topic is misleading, it makes people think that once you have a startup, mafia will come to you, and that's absolutely not true. I think there are only 2 main elements to keep in main when running a business in italy 1. Fiscal pressure 2. Bureaucracy They are the only blocks people opening a startup here might really need to figure out how to handle.

iolothebard 12y ago

You're an Italian, this is for people outside of Italy. Culture makes a big difference. Starting a company in other places is easier, this is likely why Italy is resorting to something like this to try to bring in more startups. Just because someone says the truths about the issues with Italian society, doesn't make them "disgusting". Reality can be harsh.