Earlier quoted context omitted.
anti-monopoly laws seem to be the exact opposite of "less government regulation".
maybe pro-competitive market would be a better intended description
That's still a form of government regulation.
Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
41–50 of 204 posts
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#42Completely missed one of the most important points: It's easier to take risks, if those risks actualizing will not destroy your life. In the US, there's very little social safety net to catch you. If you get sick before the startup is big enough, it means personal bankruptcy - and no medical treatment. Missing revenue targets can mean missing student loan payments, missing rent, etc. There's real risk you'll end up h…
If your startup was venture-backed, wouldn't the risk lie on the VCs instead of you?
That's conflating different risks. Personal income stream of worker/s (of which founders, angels and investors are also workers) is one thing, capital as fuel for growing a sustainable company from nothing is another.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your startup was venture-backed, wouldn't the risk lie on the VCs instead of you?
Getting of the ground is key. Before you can raise VC money, you have to have traction. This increasingly includes seed financing as well. So either way, you have to take a huge risk to start a company where the outcome is uncertain. When you run into a founder or work for one in the US, realize the absolute big risk they are taking. People in Sweden have a safety net to catch them. The result is people are more will…
TL;DR - Validationexpansion treadmill.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fun fact: most Swedes are covered by unemployment insurance, which gives you 70-80% of the income from your last job for a year.[1] I imagine this helps, as it's not only a safety net if your startup tanks, but also a runway for starting risky ventures. [1] https://www.justlanded.se/english/Sweden/Sweden-Guide/Jobs/U...
In the US you can't collect unemployment if you quit and you have to demonstrate that you're looking for a job. Are either of those the case in Sweden?
If you quit, as opposed to being fired, you have to wait three months before being able to apply. You have to prove applying for jobs as well.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#45Here's OMX, the Swedish stock index: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EOMX?p=%5EOMX vs the S&P 500: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/chart?p=SPY SPY still seems to be doing significantly better over the last 5 years.
Did someone also inject 4.5T dollars into the finance industry of Sweden?
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
If your startup was venture-backed, wouldn't the risk lie on the VCs instead of you?
In the USA, paid health insurance is tied to one's choice of employment, unless one declines the employer's coverage. Whom are you expecting to pay for health insurance if one hypothetically quits working for Google and starts their own one man/woman company? Or is this not factor in as a risk in your opinion?
If someone were really hard up, ie became homeless, there is Medicaid. It's free but not nearly as convenient or good as Medicare, which older citizens and disabled get (which has some costs). Medicare for all (single-payer) but with no copays for broke people would be ideal.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the USA, paid health insurance is tied to one's choice of employment, unless one declines the employer's coverage. Whom are you expecting to pay for health insurance if one hypothetically quits working for Google and starts their own one man/woman company? Or is this not factor in as a risk in your opinion?
> Whom are you expecting to pay for health insurance if one hypothetically quits working for Google and starts their own one man/woman company? Um, yourself? I have an ACA plan. It handles all the catastrophic stuff, and has a very reasonable deductible. It costs me ~$360/mo. Certainly this is a different ball of wax with a family (figure more around $1100-1400/mo for a reasonable plan) that has dependents. In my cas…
An example that demonstrates the difference compared with a place like Sweden is that if you are a pennyless student, you can't afford $360/month. That would make it hard to do a startup and still have health insurance.
As a student I would would have 10000 SEK / month ($1200), in grant and student loan. [1] You would expect to need nearly all of that in any of the town Universities [2] leaving nothing for healthcare. But in Sweden healthcare is nearly free (maxed at $120 for a 12 month period).
[1] http://www.csn.se/lattlast/studiestod/studiemedel/hur-mycket...
[2] https://www.kth.se/blogs/abhineet/2016/05/livingexpense/
[3] https://www.1177.se/Stockholm/Regler-och-rattigheter/Patient...
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#48Here's OMX, the Swedish stock index: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EOMX?p=%5EOMX vs the S&P 500: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SPY/chart?p=SPY SPY still seems to be doing significantly better over the last 5 years.
Did someone also inject 4.5T dollars into the finance industry of Sweden?
Yes, the 4.5T quantitative programs by the US gov pushed down interest rates across the entire globe. Financial markets don't exist in isolation.
It's not like money injected is debt free.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Did someone also inject 4.5T dollars into the finance industry of Sweden?
Yes, the 4.5T quantitative programs by the US gov pushed down interest rates across the entire globe. Financial markets don't exist in isolation. It's not like money injected is debt free.
But the effect on stock prices was to return them to pre recession levels (while growth did not). So regardless of what it did to interest rates (or perhaps in some part because of what it did), the QE has likely inflated prices of stocks - particularly US stocks. So the S&P 500 growth vs the Swedish index is hardly indicative of anything re: startups either way. If anything the increased stock prices in the US should have helped buoy the option for a IPO exit strategy in favor of the US.
Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, the 4.5T quantitative programs by the US gov pushed down interest rates across the entire globe. Financial markets don't exist in isolation. It's not like money injected is debt free.
But the effect on stock prices was to return them to pre recession levels (while growth did not). So regardless of what it did to interest rates (or perhaps in some part because of what it did), the QE has likely inflated prices of stocks - particularly US stocks. So the S&P 500 growth vs the Swedish index is hardly indicative of anything re: startups either way. If anything the increased stock prices in the US shoul…
Feel free to use a different starting year for those charts, whatever you like.