AdamM":27ctjr10 said:
Start ups don't take regulatory factors into the equation?
Then tell me why do most of worlds greatest multinational start ups choose to take roots in the US? Where regulation isn't used unless absolutely necessary?
Culture, really. America still has something of a frontier culture. There is a great deal of emphasis on individual achievement, individual success and above all else, individual independence.
Starting your own company is practically a rite of passage in American culture – to the point that in many cases corporations are considered more “people” than flesh-and-blood citizens. (Corporations for example have most of the rights and very few of the liabilities of flesh-and-blood citizens.)
Your tax structure is heavily biased towards corporations. Pay some attention to capital gains tax, corporate tax and personal taxes, then do your contrast and compare. It is far more profitable as an individual to work as a consultant and pay yourself the smallest possible salary. You invest everything through the company, dodge taxes with writeoffs and invest more. When the time comes to retire – or you need a little dough – you take the money out of the company (“dividend” or “bonus”) and pay next to nothing in capital gains if you have the slightest clue what you are doing.
So startups are concentrated in the US primarily because US culture damned near demands it. People who go to the US for education from abroad are saturated in this culture. People raised there are under pressure their entire lives.
When you step out of American culture, you find that
other cultures don’t place the same value on the same things as Americnas. I know, this is difficult to believe. Americans are taught from brith to believe the people are largely the same, everywhere. The only reason they aren’t all like Americans is something “evil” holding them back.
Well that’s complete horseshit. There are lots of cultures in the world where people actually
don’t give a damn about money, beyond having enough to live. IF they can go to the local chaebol, work 8 hours a day and bring home enough for the basics, they are happy.
Their cultures are oriented so that they don’t have to worry about “saving for retirement.” Some places have a social commitment to caring for the elderly. In some places, family means a lot more to individuals than Americans can even comprehend. 3, 4 or even 5 generations live in the same house, not because there isn’t money enough to buy more living space, but because family is so important that there is a strong incentive to keep them close.
Americans have a terrible time understanding all of this. Cultures around the world are simply
different. Even in cultures where people value money as much as in the US, ideas about how best to get it are often entirely different. To many, the idea of starting one’s own business simply doesn’t occur to them. They are taught from birth that you work at “the company,” and if you work hard you will be rewarded for such. In some cases that’s even true! (Shock!)
So why are startups disproportionately American? Because Americans care
way more about such things. The rest of the world – by and large – have better things to worry about.
