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UK's hardware talent is being wasted

josef.cn

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Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#271

Post by baxtr »

r_thambapillai wrote: post #51

As a Brit, when I was raising the seed round for my startup, UK and European VCs would consistently try to haggle you down on price while the American VC's were exclusively focussed on trying to figure out whether this could be a billion dollar business or not (in the end we raised a $5m seed led by Spark, and have done extremely well and raised more since). The UK lost Deep Mind - which could have been OpenAI!! -- t…

I agree. But I wonder what’s the underlying cause?

Europe wasn’t like this for centuries. What is the cause of this mindset?

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#272

Post by dagw »

rgmerk wrote: post #109
wbl wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When a man is tired of London he is tired of life.

Or maybe he’s just tired of a specific kind of life which might be fun in your early twenties but is less appealing when you’ve got kids and can’t enjoy the nightlife and culture anyway.

you’ve got kids and can’t enjoy the nightlife and culture anyway

Having kids while living in the centre of a large city is great, as there is so much culture that is aimed at parents and children. When my kid was small we went to museums and concerts and events all the time that were aimed at kids. There were also several different parks, playgrounds, pools and similar activities to choose from all within easy access. Plus once the kids get slightly older they can use public transport to get around and you don't have to drive them anywhere near as much as if you live in the suburbs.

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#274

Post by nobodywillobsrv »

baxtr wrote: post #271
r_thambapillai wrote: post #51

As a Brit, when I was raising the seed round for my startup, UK and European VCs would consistently try to haggle you down on price while the American VC's were exclusively focussed on trying to figure out whether this could be a billion dollar business or not (in the end we raised a $5m seed led by Spark, and have done extremely well and raised more since). The UK lost Deep Mind - which could have been OpenAI!! -- t…

I agree. But I wonder what’s the underlying cause? Europe wasn’t like this for centuries. What is the cause of this mindset?

Taxation. Socialism.

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#275

Post by __alexs »

samastur wrote: post #255
Xmd5a wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>USSR was also terribly battered by WWII, and its leadership was not highly competent either The USSR moved all its industry eastward, as the German army advanced, waiting for the very last moment to do so. Quite an incredible feat that allowed them to beat Germany at industrial efficiency and secure victory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_in_the_Soviet_Union Here's an analysis of the mechanisms underpinnin…

This is a myth they tell themselves. USSR won by incredible amounts of American supplied material.

A truck without a driver has no value in a war. Lend lease was important but the ambition and drive to defeat Germany required huge sacrifices on all sides that are impossible without shared cultural ideals.

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#276

Post by defrost »

makingstuffs wrote: post #254
CalRobert wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah yes, my fabulous Dutch healthcare basically consisting of being told "you're fine" and overpriced acetaminophen.

Sounds like the non-existent British NHS where getting an appointment to see a doctor is about as likely as meeting the Loch Ness Monster for a spot of tea and crumpets.

It used to be the jewel in the crown of empire though.

Thatcher and the more recent 14 years of UK Conservative government seemed to have kicked it bloody and senseless like Alex and his droogs from the Korova Milkbar.

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#277

Post by nobodywillobsrv »

nicoburns wrote: post #220
mrtksn wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Completely agree, the problem in Europe is not regulations or anything like that - it is a mindset issue. It is one of things that europeans can learn from Americans. My hypothesis is that this is a combination of old money and class consciousness. In other words, the rich are risk averse because all they care is preserving their wealth and the working class don’t believe and can’t even imagine that more is possible.

> don’t believe and can’t even imagine that more is possible. And/or don't think that more is better/desirable. I wouldn't consider myself working class, but I was definitely raised with the idea that making obscene amounts of money is actually pretty selfish/immoral and not something one ought to strive for. That doesn't preclude going into business. But it is pretty antithetical to the VC funding model and the crea…

Exactly. Half the population are saboteurs and vote to suppress success

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#278

Post by bowsamic »

zipy124 wrote: post #259
Cumpiler69 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by that?

He means a safe wage job pays a third less in the UK than Germany. Not sure if it's true so let's look at some stats: Germany median for software engineer: €66,000 United kingdom median: €58,000 Note depending on source, these numbers both vary broadly within the same range, but with Germany salaries being about 10-15% higher on most sources, so nowhere near the figure claimed.

10-15% is not hugely far from 1/3 ;)

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#279

Post by cpursley »

samastur wrote: post #255
Xmd5a wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>USSR was also terribly battered by WWII, and its leadership was not highly competent either The USSR moved all its industry eastward, as the German army advanced, waiting for the very last moment to do so. Quite an incredible feat that allowed them to beat Germany at industrial efficiency and secure victory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evacuation_in_the_Soviet_Union Here's an analysis of the mechanisms underpinnin…

This is a myth they tell themselves. USSR won by incredible amounts of American supplied material.

You’ve watched too many Hollywood movies. Yes, Lend-Lease was very helpful - but only about 5% of Soviet GDP. For example, the Soviets produced more tanks than all other allies combined, and that was while under massive active attack and invasion - even moved entire factories.

The real myth is that the Soviets just threw meat waves and would have lost without Uncle Sam. Most of that was anti communist propaganda and any serious (ie non-narrative driven) historian knows the truth about the industrial and military achievements of the Soviets in that war.

Re: UK's hardware talent is being wasted

#280

Post by happymellon »

CalRobert wrote: post #216
Earw0rm wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't building stuff, it's building stuff where stuff needs to be. We built plenty of out-of-town shopping centres, business parks and industrial estates in the 70s, 80s, 90s. We stopped because it turns out they're, for the most part, shit. Given the choice, people will WFH and order off Amazon rather than go within a mile of these places. What we need is to tackle the vested interests in the towns and c…

BUUUT MuHHH PAAARRRKiiiiNNNGGGG!! (And house values). And we can't _possibly_ make the town look different than it did in 1972 because "heritage". We're talking about a bunch of crusty old church biddies who will literally force you to put the most godawful, hideous house covering in the history of man BACK on your house because they're terrified of being reminded it's not the 70's. (Sorry for the mail link) https://…

And the neighbours don't have any of that awful looking pebble dash.
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