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Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

theatlantic.com

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Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#51

Post by dv_dt »

MrFoof wrote: post #31
stevenwoo wrote: post #12

Earlier 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…

The fact that it's possible to get it in the US doesn't make it favorable compared to Sweden. The US per capita pays more for healthcare than Sweden, and ACA plan costs are typically higher than many employer group plans.

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#52

Post by [deleted] »

nikanj wrote: post #4

Completely 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…

[deleted]

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#53

Post by ImSkeptical »

fastbeef wrote: post #44
thesmallestcat wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Doesn't that just encourage people to get fired instead of quitting?

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#54

Post by skrebbel »

nikanj wrote: post #4

Completely 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…

I'm an entrepreneur and I'm strongly in favour of these policies for this exact reason. It often surprises people that there are entrepreneurs who're in favour or more, not less, social spending. But I think that in the long term, making to feasible for anybody, not just rich kids, to start companies is good for the economy.

I wish we (the Netherlands) had a system more similar to the Scandinavian countries. We have social security, but it has gaps and holes all over the place and once you get stuck in one of those gaps there's virtually no way out. Notably, having been an entrepreneur puts you in one of those gaps.

I'm a (sufficiently) rich kid though, so no biggie.

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#56

Post by hobofan »

ImSkeptical wrote: post #53
fastbeef wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Doesn't that just encourage people to get fired instead of quitting?

(German here, but pretty much the same situation.)

Not really. It's really hard to try and get fired, since the employees are protected pretty well. So in order to get fired you would have to mess up pretty bad, to a point where you would usually leave a lot of scorched earth, so very few people do that.

If you are on good terms with the company you can also "get fired" (I've heard of that in a few startups), so you can collect the benefits, but that only works in a small set of companys I think.

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#57

Post by fish_fan »

adventured wrote: post #20
fish_fan wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re only addressing half the comparison. Yes, the US has welfare, but it’s conditional and often insufficient.

Of course it's conditional, as it should be. If you're at or below the poverty line you can draw on the most welfare benefits, if you're earning a median income the benefits you can utilize are diminished. Proclaiming it's often insufficient is a comically loaded premise. How often? In which states? Under which circumstances? I've got the perfect response for that: it's often sufficient. According to the OECD's numbe…

Living better is a relative term. Having access to cheap junk food and TVs does not pay medical bills, nor the debt that follows.

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#58

Post by leksak »

pokemongoaway wrote: post #38
gragas wrote: post #2

The subtitle is misleading. >How a tiny country with high government spending bred a large number of vibrant young businesses The article then goes on to attribute almost all of Sweden's success to deregulation and anti-monopoly laws---i.e., less government intervention ∝ more startup success.

And it shouldn't all be characterized as success. I wonder who in this thread has actually worked in Sweden before... I've had clients there and worked from co-working spaces, and I saw more fucking around and play time and work not getting done than I've ever seen admitted.

Could you please elaborate?

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#59

Post by jackvalentine »

skrebbel wrote: post #54
nikanj wrote: post #4

Completely 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…

I'm an entrepreneur and I'm strongly in favour of these policies for this exact reason. It often surprises people that there are entrepreneurs who're in favour or more , not less, social spending. But I think that in the long term, making to feasible for anybody , not just rich kids, to start companies is good for the economy. I wish we (the Netherlands) had a system more similar to the Scandinavian countries. We hav…

> Notably, having been an entrepreneur puts you in one of those gaps.

Do you mind expanding? Is this something to do with having been ‘unemployed’ while working on your company?

Re: Why Does Sweden Have So Many Startups?

#60

Post by m1sta_ »

nikanj wrote: post #4

Completely 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…

I agree with your first paragraph. The US has very entrepreneurial may generous bankruptcy law. That’s relevant here too.
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