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Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

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Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#91

Post by apexalpha »

hnkf wrote: post #85
_petronius wrote: post #5

We do have tech startups here in Germany, and quite a few of them. It's just that they tend to be funded differently, and with less of the wild valuation-speculation that goes on in the US. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. As a corollary, the article cites European data protection law (in the context of not being able to collect usage data to improve the product) as a barrier to building startups which ... is also ve…

The article is wrong on many levels, you’re right. As a Berlin-based developer I’m not sure where they’re getting their facts. Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest. I’ve inplemented a lot of stuff related to it and it’s definitely not what it gets pictured as. At the end of the day it speaks more of the zeitgeist among Quartz’s “high-earning readers”.

>Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest. I’ve inplemented a lot of stuff related to it and it’s definitely not what it gets pictured as.

Every law that remotely hinders the purist form of the free market is detested in Anglo media is seems. People have no problem hailing Amazon as a tech wonder and celebrate Bezos as the richest man alive. But how about minimum wage and proper working conditions in their warehouses?

'ah should get a better job then'. They are 'at will' employed.

Just because a law restricts business doesn't mean it's bad.

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#92

Post by baxtr »

expertentipp wrote: post #73
baxtr wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well it worked for us in the car space. As engineer coming from university it is clear where you want to work in Germany: Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, great places to start a career.

> As engineer coming from university it is clear where you want to work in Germany: Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, great places to start a career. meh, working with embedded hard-heads on experimental features for a car segment driven by oligarchs, CEOs, and mafiosos.

Please have look at that ranking:

https://www.ingenieur.de/karriere/arbeitsleben/arbeitgeber/d...

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#93

Post by raverbashing »

zenovision wrote: post #81

Germany has a lot of drawbacks to be the next silicon valley: * the most difficult tax system in the world. even freelancers have to use accountant services, because most people will not be able to pay taxes properly without it. * high taxes - 42% income tax + Solidaritätszuschlag 5.5% = 47.5%; for corporations it's ~30%. * A LOT of buerocracy. I can't even send an email to tax authorities in my area, because they on…

> the most difficult tax system in the world.

I love how hyperbolic statements like this get bought and sold like truth. It's not even close to being the most difficult tax system in the world.

Source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.TAX.DURS?year_high_d...

> highly qualified foreigners have to learn German

For startups or tech positions? No, they don't.

Also, learning German at a conversational level is not impossible. (But it seems a lot of people in Berlin coast by without even knowing basic German)

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#94

Post by hnkf »

mk89 wrote: post #30

The mindset in SV is to fail fast - yes, with all the consequences for the investors. That's why investing in startups is a high risk investment. And that's also why the cautious way of doing business in Europe doesn't help with the startup economy. Being too cautious prevents from taking high risks. I interviewed several times with startups proud of not having any funding behind. Very nice. Still, my question is...…

This is precisely why I despise startup culture. What about the risk for the workers and your customers? What are the grand innovations you think Europe couldn’t produce because we’re more careful?

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#95

Post by blue_box »

mrhackerpoland wrote: post #55

Startups need immigrants. Germany only accept immigrants from EU, not from China or India which produce cheapest empoyees offering max value. One key difference is that Startups lack fund. So either: 1. Funding be made more generous by offering tax advantages to invesitors 2. Or, biggest expense are employees, so we need employees accepting a dream stock unit and very low wage, so we can hire more of them. But I've t…

I've moved from non-EU country to Germany.

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#96

Post by AsyncAwait »

hnkf wrote: post #85
_petronius wrote: post #5

We do have tech startups here in Germany, and quite a few of them. It's just that they tend to be funded differently, and with less of the wild valuation-speculation that goes on in the US. I'm not sure that's a bad thing. As a corollary, the article cites European data protection law (in the context of not being able to collect usage data to improve the product) as a barrier to building startups which ... is also ve…

The article is wrong on many levels, you’re right. As a Berlin-based developer I’m not sure where they’re getting their facts. Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest. I’ve inplemented a lot of stuff related to it and it’s definitely not what it gets pictured as. At the end of the day it speaks more of the zeitgeist among Quartz’s “high-earning readers”.

> Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest.

From what I noticed, it's mostly coming from the U.S. where every piece of regulation is seen as "government impending businesses that create jobs", including regulation against polluting etc. I am not sure how actual citizens feel, I suspect not as strongly against deregulation as the press make it seem, but they're definitely a lot more against it than in the EU.

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#97

Post by rjsw »

mprev wrote: post #9

Has the author not heard of Rocket Internet? Hello Fresh? Zalando? Contentful? SumUp? Wooga? Deepstreamhub? Delivery Hero? N26?

I'm in the UK and have only heard of some of them because I sometimes watch German TV and see adverts for them.

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#98

Post by zenovision »

raverbashing wrote: post #93
zenovision wrote: post #81

Germany has a lot of drawbacks to be the next silicon valley: * the most difficult tax system in the world. even freelancers have to use accountant services, because most people will not be able to pay taxes properly without it. * high taxes - 42% income tax + Solidaritätszuschlag 5.5% = 47.5%; for corporations it's ~30%. * A LOT of buerocracy. I can't even send an email to tax authorities in my area, because they on…

> the most difficult tax system in the world. I love how hyperbolic statements like this get bought and sold like truth. It's not even close to being the most difficult tax system in the world. Source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.TAX.DURS?year_high_d... > highly qualified foreigners have to learn German For startups or tech positions? No, they don't. Also, learning German at a conversational level is not…

Your link just proves how horrible German tax system is:

* A german needs 2x more time for taxes than a UK citizen

* needs 3x more time than a Norway citizen

* needs 4x more time than a Swiss citizen

* 20x more time than a UAE citizen

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#99

Post by hnkf »

apexalpha wrote: post #91
hnkf wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is wrong on many levels, you’re right. As a Berlin-based developer I’m not sure where they’re getting their facts. Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest. I’ve inplemented a lot of stuff related to it and it’s definitely not what it gets pictured as. At the end of the day it speaks more of the zeitgeist among Quartz’s “high-earning readers”.

>Blaming GDPR for everything is another stupid trend I detest. I’ve inplemented a lot of stuff related to it and it’s definitely not what it gets pictured as. Every law that remotely hinders the purist form of the free market is detested in Anglo media is seems. People have no problem hailing Amazon as a tech wonder and celebrate Bezos as the richest man alive. But how about minimum wage and proper working conditions…

Thank you! It’s easy to forget many of the “safety nets” we enjoy in Europe stem from socialist-style welfare policies that our forerunners fought for.

Re: Germans don’t do tech startups – more access to capital might change that

#100

Post by raverbashing »

zenovision wrote: post #98
raverbashing wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the most difficult tax system in the world. I love how hyperbolic statements like this get bought and sold like truth. It's not even close to being the most difficult tax system in the world. Source: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.TAX.DURS?year_high_d... > highly qualified foreigners have to learn German For startups or tech positions? No, they don't. Also, learning German at a conversational level is not…

Your link just proves how horrible German tax system is: * A german needs 2x more time for taxes than a UK citizen * needs 3x more time than a Norway citizen * needs 4x more time than a Swiss citizen * 20x more time than a UAE citizen

"Horrible"

United States: 175h Germany: 218h

Governments are not very easy dealing, but to call it "horrible" when some countries require 10x the time is unfair.

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