31–40 of 82 posts
It's a European cultural issue. Denmark is not any different. There are big discussions in Denmark right now about how to create growth. So the following can be applied to Germany as well I think. I am saddened to see that most politicians thinking is: 1. Education 2. Green Tech (Wind Mills and Wave Mills primarily with government funding. Yes you heard that right) 3. Upgrading your education 4. Education 5. Innovati…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the UK, if you fail, its pretty much game over. You get black listed and pretty much, that's the end of it. If you fail and go bankrupt, then set up again, you are almost seen as a fraudulent criminal. In the US, it seems to me that you can try and fail as much as you like, as long as you keep trying and don't get criminal. Trying seems to be enough to get some level of respect. It is absolutely one of the things…
Very true. We also have a different attitude to firing and hiring in the UK and thus the recruitment market is quite different. For instance I don't know of any recruitment agents in the UK that specialise in start-up positions (and I would be more than happen for someone to point some out!)
Tell HN: I participated in a German Government startup program in 2004/2005 called EXIST-SEED (nowadays called EXIST Gründerstipendium). I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. The funding I got was relatively modest (35 kEUR in my case -- as a consultant I now earn more than that within 4 months) and I was drowned in bureaucracy. To this very day, I am arguing with the German IRS because they do not want to treat a fai…
If I would have continued (and be accepted) I would have lost another 3-12 months until signing the contract. After that I'd be caught in at least 2 waves of unexpected monitoring and re-verification (which ultimately means not receiving the money in time from the state, all while I'd still have to pay my taxes, employees and suppliers according to the contract)
It's a European cultural issue. Denmark is not any different. There are big discussions in Denmark right now about how to create growth. So the following can be applied to Germany as well I think. I am saddened to see that most politicians thinking is: 1. Education 2. Green Tech (Wind Mills and Wave Mills primarily with government funding. Yes you heard that right) 3. Upgrading your education 4. Education 5. Innovati…
I don't think the salaries are the issue, though, because Danish engineering salaries, while nice, are slightly lower than Silicon Valley, so they can't be the main difference.
Another complaint I've heard is that there are some issues around entrepreneurship and the social-welfare system, because if you start a company and it fails, you aren't eligible for the same benefits as an employee who joins a business and then gets fired. That's also true in the U.S. (no unemployment insurance for entrepreneurs), but the U.S. social-welfare system is weaker so it's not as big a differentiator; losing the a-kasse is a bigger deal. On the other hand, the fact that Danish startups get free healthcare for themselves and employees is a plus.
I am a German engineering student. I will try to describe the situation as I see it from here. 1. Start-Ups are lacking incentives: Germans are obsessed with evaluating risks and will almost always go for the safe bet, rather the risky way. Its somehow ingrained in our culture. So the college grad has two options: 1- Land a safe job in the industry (eg. automotive), company benefits maybe even a company car. Thanks t…
I got some half-baked ideas that would be not far from an minimum viable product, but I can't help it and overthink all possiblities and eventually stop working on that idea because I'm bored with it and seemingly can't get it off the ground.
Does that means that Germany is not better, or that France is even worse ?
This is one of the main forces behind the VC scene: for a multi-millionaire, throwing a few hundreds here and there to some young gun is nothing, even if you lose them all you'll still have your Porsche and your boat.
In Europe, wealth is more distributed, which means that, for many, a bad investment of a few hundred thousand euros can make a real dent in the family fortune. We have less poor people, but less uber-rich people as well, it's a trade-off; it so happens that this trade-off works well with heavy industry but less with the super-dynamic "business at the speed of light" of this new millennium.
This is not to say we should cut some slack to the uber-rich (most of them come from aristocratic families and don't deserve to be where they are anyway), but rather that we need to find different, european ways of generating seeding resources for startups, and that's a bit of a bitch.
"People in SV are not afraid to fail. In fact, having failed before is considered a great quality. If you haven’t failed, you’re either inexperienced or suspicious. Startups try, fail, try again, pivot, fail and try again." I think aside from maybe regulation, this is the biggest issue that Germany has and it's also the same one that Japan faces. The fear of failure and losing face. I'm not even sure that you can cha…
I think that the US really are the exception here, it seems that in most countries world wide, failing is not really seen as having benefits.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The kebabs are something else in Berlin. Much more like a Taco than those greasy things you see elsewhere in the world.
Greesy kebabs with a lot of sauce 'spicy, mild or mix?' are a European invention I think. I've been to a few middle-eastern countries including Turkey and haven't seen sauce in kebab ever (still they give sauce in Berlin).
Tell HN: I participated in a German Government startup program in 2004/2005 called EXIST-SEED (nowadays called EXIST Gründerstipendium). I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. The funding I got was relatively modest (35 kEUR in my case -- as a consultant I now earn more than that within 4 months) and I was drowned in bureaucracy. To this very day, I am arguing with the German IRS because they do not want to treat a fai…
From reading here and elsewhere, in the US you seem to get a reasonable chance (and maybe even some recognition) for having tried to start a company (and managed to keep it alive for some time).
Here, you failed, so you will fail, so why should anyone employ you?