In this controversial anonymous post, the Author praises the "Silicon Valley" way of doing business and creating startup companies. I am not going to get into the controversy, but I think the author leaves out some important factors, like different local culture and economic/financial/legal frameworks, and more, that could also explain why European startups are not as successful as the ones in the US. Not to mention the fact that, in many European countries, big local corporations and companies just "don't get it" when it comes to Internet, which makes really hard to build a startup with any perspective of growth.
Something I’ve realized and have to admit is that while obviously the absolute pool of talent is smaller here in the UK/Europe than it is in the U.S. (and that cannot be disputed nor is it anything more than a function of population) another factor. It is one which I keep hoping will chang, because if it doesn’t it threatens to make a small pool even smaller. And that is a cultural and behavioral issue: work ethic.
As anyone who’s ever been there or visited will attest, in Silicon Valley everyone is working *all of the time*.
And while this might seem unhealthy, not scalable, obsessive, manic or simply ridiculous, from an ecosystem perspective it’s basically unbeatable. If you want to build companies and ride the wave of innovation, it’s a 24/7 preoccupation — not just a lifestyle business. By contrast, I am in London-based startups’ offices all the time and I am gobsmacked when they are nearly empty by 6:30 PM.
I always wanted to share this New Yorker's Cover from 2002 -- We Eurotrash people loved it!
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