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Sweden may look tiny, but in fact it has GDP 1/36th of U.S., did it also generate ~$100B of startup worth in 20 years (Silicon Valley made about $2.5-3T in this time and quite a bit - maybe up to $1T - elsewhere in the U.S.)?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That summary would apply more or less to any Scandinavian country so those can't be the reason.
Swedes are very different from, say, Norwegians. Swedes are forthcoming and ambitious; if you succeed in your ambition, you're celebrated by your countrymen (so long what you're doing is in the politically correct sphere). You're allowed to be proud of your achievements. Norwegians keep their head down; most seem content with what little they have. If you do achieve more success than your average countrymen, you're s…
The most important quote: "Sweden’s impressive start-up record can also be attributed to some broader aspects of how the country is set up. Its social safety net, for instance, helps entrepreneurs feel safe to take risks. In Sweden, university is free, and students can get loans for living expenses, which allows anyone to pursue higher education. Health care is free too, and childcare is heavily subsidized. None of t…
Other Scandinavian countries are also doing quite well, way beyond what their size would suggest. But also well beyond other countries with developed welfare systems, such as France. I think these discussions always miss one key factor: Language. If you don't speak English quite well at an early age (already at 10-13 years old) you are much less likely to get into software development at an early age. If you don't ge…
The most important quote: "Sweden’s impressive start-up record can also be attributed to some broader aspects of how the country is set up. Its social safety net, for instance, helps entrepreneurs feel safe to take risks. In Sweden, university is free, and students can get loans for living expenses, which allows anyone to pursue higher education. Health care is free too, and childcare is heavily subsidized. None of t…
Sweden have good working morale and extremely high unemployment rates among young people that often have high education. If you start a tech company you will be flooded with applications and you can cherry pick talents. The entry wage for developers are around $25,000 year, yes year, not monthly!
But sadly most of them are unemployable for tech-firms. Sweden, like most other places, has a shortage of well educated engineers (and other young professionals).
Much of higher education is Sweden is very low-quality. For example, there are government subsidized university courses in Harry Potter knowledge (no joke).
Sweden have good working morale and extremely high unemployment rates among young people that often have high education. If you start a tech company you will be flooded with applications and you can cherry pick talents. The entry wage for developers are around $25,000 year, yes year, not monthly!
A good sysadmin can make around 60k USD /year in Sweden.
Good developers make several thousand more.
The most important quote: "Sweden’s impressive start-up record can also be attributed to some broader aspects of how the country is set up. Its social safety net, for instance, helps entrepreneurs feel safe to take risks. In Sweden, university is free, and students can get loans for living expenses, which allows anyone to pursue higher education. Health care is free too, and childcare is heavily subsidized. None of t…
What are some successful startups that are based out of Sweden?
With Swedish high cost of living, is it feasible to bootstrap a product company there (a company that needs time to build something to sell) or is an outside investment the only feasible path for such companies?