3 ms·

after seeing the anti-Uber protests, why would anyone in their right minds go do a startup in France?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
pesenti 11y ago
Because there is very good tech talent with much less competition and lower costs than in the US - in part because schools are mostly free.
- redthrowaway 11y ago
  And that tech talent can work anywhere in Europe. So why start a company in a country that's hostile to entrepreneurship when you could start it elsewhere with access to the same talent pool?
  - xgbi 11y ago
    Country? Where did you read that the entire country population is against Uber? It is actually the contrary... It is just that taxis were super violent during their protests (which definitely didn't help their case).
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- solve 11y ago
  Lower competition - my favorite lie that I hear told in every EU country. EU is not lower competition from the entrepreneur's perspective. Anywhere in the EU is vastly higher competition. - Unless you're doing a hyper-local product, you're competing on the global scale. - The ratio of active investors versus serious entrepreneurs is far, far worse in France than in Silicon Valley. - Getting good people in France to join your startup is very easy. Getting the absolute best people in the world, that's tough. Not because they don't exist in France. It's because the absolute best people want to leave France. Top talent wants to move to the #1 best place in the world for their industry, no less. The lifecycle of a (non-lifestyle) startup anywhere in the EU is far harder than it is in Silicon valley, at every stage. If the government continues to add serious benefits, and many other changes happen though, the balance could maybe start to shift.
  - pesenti 11y ago
    I meant lower competition for talent.
  - iamcurious 11y ago
    It's because the absolute best people want to leave France. Top talent wants to move to the #1 best place in the world for their industry, no less. Are those definitions or observations?
Joky 11y ago
Did the taxis protesting against Uber in NYC made the US a no-go for entrepreneur? If not, why would it for France...
- oh_sigh 11y ago
  Did the taxis completely block traffic in Manhattan and assault/kidnap uber drivers?
ane 11y ago
The food is rather nice.
Toine 11y ago
So taxis in Paris protest against a multibillion dollar company and suddenly the entire country of France is against startups ? I agree that France is probably not the best country to launch a startup but this is a pretty poor argument.
nraynaud 11y ago
Trashing uber in France is like the US trashing the chinese, uber is not a startup, it's a huge foreign conglomerate entering a new country where there is already a huge incumbent in place, there is nothing startupy anymore about it, you're a few years late to the party. It's like the crackdowns on online gaming in the US for example.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

Because there is very good tech talent with much less competition and lower costs than in the US - in part because schools are mostly free.

redthrowaway 11y ago
And that tech talent can work anywhere in Europe. So why start a company in a country that's hostile to entrepreneurship when you could start it elsewhere with access to the same talent pool?
- xgbi 11y ago
  Country? Where did you read that the entire country population is against Uber? It is actually the contrary... It is just that taxis were super violent during their protests (which definitely didn't help their case).
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
solve 11y ago
Lower competition - my favorite lie that I hear told in every EU country. EU is not lower competition from the entrepreneur's perspective. Anywhere in the EU is vastly higher competition. - Unless you're doing a hyper-local product, you're competing on the global scale. - The ratio of active investors versus serious entrepreneurs is far, far worse in France than in Silicon Valley. - Getting good people in France to join your startup is very easy. Getting the absolute best people in the world, that's tough. Not because they don't exist in France. It's because the absolute best people want to leave France. Top talent wants to move to the #1 best place in the world for their industry, no less. The lifecycle of a (non-lifestyle) startup anywhere in the EU is far harder than it is in Silicon valley, at every stage. If the government continues to add serious benefits, and many other changes happen though, the balance could maybe start to shift.
- pesenti 11y ago
  I meant lower competition for talent.
- iamcurious 11y ago
  It's because the absolute best people want to leave France. Top talent wants to move to the #1 best place in the world for their industry, no less. Are those definitions or observations?

Joky 11y ago

Did the taxis protesting against Uber in NYC made the US a no-go for entrepreneur? If not, why would it for France...

oh_sigh 11y ago
Did the taxis completely block traffic in Manhattan and assault/kidnap uber drivers?

ane 11y ago

The food is rather nice.

Toine 11y ago

So taxis in Paris protest against a multibillion dollar company and suddenly the entire country of France is against startups ? I agree that France is probably not the best country to launch a startup but this is a pretty poor argument.

nraynaud 11y ago

Trashing uber in France is like the US trashing the chinese, uber is not a startup, it's a huge foreign conglomerate entering a new country where there is already a huge incumbent in place, there is nothing startupy anymore about it, you're a few years late to the party. It's like the crackdowns on online gaming in the US for example.