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"50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

economist.com

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Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#41

Post by jseliger »

wheels wrote: post #39
rubashov wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not especially surprising, nor damning of american-borns I disagree. I wouldn't be sanguine about it. Previous major waves of technical innovation were lead by well established Americans. Something has changed. A plausible hypothesis (not that I'm convinced) is that high immigration has driven down wages in technical professions. So native born Americans are less inclined to bother. I think it's important to point…

From 1921 to 1965 immigration was practically nothing. Uhm, what? Perhaps in raw numbers, but the world wars drove vast numbers of european intellectuals to the US.

I was just going to say almost exactly this: it might be worth reading Richard Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb, in which he points out how many of the essential scientists and engineers working in aspects of the Manhattan Project were Europeans. Some of the most essential figures, like Leo Szliard (sp?), were.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#42

Post by eduardo_f »

bpodgursky wrote: post #7

Not especially surprising, nor damning of american-borns. Those with the motivation, skills, and education to move abroad (to anywhere!) and start a business are going to, on average, outperform the population which was born there. Not because they are naturally better, but because they were self-selected by being there in the first place. Just like I'd be willing to bet that americans living abroad are overrepresent…

I don't think it's damning of American-borns, I think it's actually the opposite. As a foreign-born founder of a US startup, I wish my home country was as attractive as the US for starting my business. I think America should be proud of its capability to attract top talent.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#43

Post by alextgordon »

usaar333 wrote: post #36
MC27 wrote: post #24

I'd imagine immigrants aren't so laden with debt, so they have more freedom. Many countries don't charge their native students for higher education, those that do, are often subsidised and repayments are linked to their earnings. So if you earn a small salary, you pay nothing.

I don't imagine this being that large of problem this is with majors like computer science. By going to a public school and interning during the summer (maybe even part time during the year), you can easily come out debt free (if not positive).

Yes but percentage of CS students actually finish with low debt? I would imagine it's lowish.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#44

Post by HectorRamos »

runT1ME wrote: post #26

People who are born in the US probably have less incentive to leave 'home'. High probability that they've developed business relationships and a network of people in their hometown or place of schooling, giving them an advantage that is taken away if they move to Silicon Valley.

How is that different from anyone else not born in the US? They also have a 'home' and established business relationships.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#47

Post by sbowles »

osopoderoso wrote: post #14
ww520 wrote: post #10

Immigrants by self-selection are already risk-takers, that fits well as a trait to be an entrepreneur.

Immigrants are not only risk-takers, they are mainly avoiding poverty and looking for better conditions.

On behalf of my fellow Canadians in the US, I can safely say most of us are simply opportunists.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#48

Post by johngalt »

This is great news. People are drawn from the world over to SV to build a business. Makes me wonder if we relaxed immigration rules for entrepreneurs we could push this even further.

The idea that we could draw in more founders just by letting them come here... seems like an easy win. All those startups and all the high skill workers they'd attract. Imagine the synergy of all that talent in one place. It could be the next renaissance.

Re: "50% of firm founders [in Silicon Valley] are foreign born"

#50

Post by usaar333 »

alextgordon wrote: post #43
usaar333 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't imagine this being that large of problem this is with majors like computer science. By going to a public school and interning during the summer (maybe even part time during the year), you can easily come out debt free (if not positive).

Yes but percentage of CS students actually finish with low debt? I would imagine it's lowish.

I'd love to see the numbers.

At my alma matter (Berkeley), I imagine it was quite high. Not so much due to the high paying internships (which do help limit the burden), but because CS students on average tended to come from quite affluent households.

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