In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
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Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#2Magnifique
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#3Let me be the classical Frenchy (i.e. never happy) here and point out that as long as the tax code, red tape and overall overwhelming paperwork entrepreneurs in France have to deal with won't be reduced or greatly simplified, having big incubators will be a nice touch but the road to growth will still be paved with unnecessary hurdles.
The task at hand is HUGE, one that not so many developed countries have to deal with, that is allowing SME/SMI and entrepreneurs to grow without hassle while still preserving the quality of public service we've grown accustomed to (which has a cost that everyone contributes to or is supposed to contribute to).
I hope we find a good middle ground there, cause the startup culture in France is still a decade behind compared to that of the US or Canada speaking for examples I've experienced first-hand.
EDIT: Still an awesome prospect though, kudos to all the people involved.
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#4Let me be the classical Frenchy (i.e. never happy) here and point out that as long as the tax code, red tape and overall overwhelming paperwork entrepreneurs in France have to deal with won't be reduced or greatly simplified, having big incubators will be a nice touch but the road to growth will still be paved with unnecessary hurdles. The task at hand is HUGE, one that not so many developed countries have to deal wi…
Can you give examples of red tape/paperwork you'd like to see removed to help entrepreneurs in France?
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#5Let me be the classical Frenchy (i.e. never happy) here and point out that as long as the tax code, red tape and overall overwhelming paperwork entrepreneurs in France have to deal with won't be reduced or greatly simplified, having big incubators will be a nice touch but the road to growth will still be paved with unnecessary hurdles. The task at hand is HUGE, one that not so many developed countries have to deal wi…
Can you give examples of red tape/paperwork you'd like to see removed to help entrepreneurs in France?
I'm not from France but this doesn't look good: http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/france/ vs http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/unitedsta....
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#6While I applaud any efforts toward entrepreneurship, I can't help but think that these "megaproject" efforts kind of miss the point.
By their very nature, startups tend to originate from grungy, grassroots hackerspaces, undergrad dorms, shared apartments, graduate common rooms, and so forth. Places where weird and innovative ideas get cross pollinated.
I mean, yeah, "let a thousand flowers bloom", and all. But if France continues to be a place where 75% taxes are seen as a sane idea and bureaucracy holds sway over innovation ... well, good luck.
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#7Ha! I bet Free employees (Free is Xavier Niel's main business) are a bit ticked off - Free is renowned for being cheap with regards to it's employees...
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#8Are they still legally obliged to call computers ordinateurs and use Megaoctet over there?
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#9So, how long does it take to learn enough French to be dangerous :-) if you don't speak any Romance language?
Re: In 2016, Paris to be home to the biggest startup incubator in the world
#10While I applaud any efforts toward entrepreneurship, I can't help but think that these "megaproject" efforts kind of miss the point. By their very nature, startups tend to originate from grungy, grassroots hackerspaces, undergrad dorms, shared apartments, graduate common rooms, and so forth. Places where weird and innovative ideas get cross pollinated. I mean, yeah, "let a thousand flowers bloom", and all. But if Fra…
Well, I suppose one way to look at it is that, bearing in mind that taxes and bureaucracy are intensely difficult to change in the right direction in France, they should try and make things easier for start-ups in other ways. Subsidised office space, and easier collaboration are both good ideas, and are all the more necessary given France's problems in other areas. It should be noted that France turns out some really good engineers (my opinion, as an Australian in France), and it's just dumb not to benefit more from that.
The government has made some good changes in the red tape department too. For example, you can now kick off a one-person start-up by using the status of "entrepreneur" to start with, allowing you to start making money whilst holding down a steady job - once you've stabilized income at ramen profitability, you can then go and fight the red tape to become a proper business. Obviously this is not a model that works for all start-ups, but at least some are going to be able to get off the ground using this ramp.