[andreamazz]

Unicorns? Ha! It's hard to survive, let alone be successful. No investors, convoluted laws, high taxes and complete lack of startup mentality. I'm a cofounder of an italian startup, and the road is on an unbearably steep slope. The bureaucracy is insane, the cost of running a small business is daunting. Other companies refuse to work with you because in their eyes you're a scrub (I heard so many times bullshit like "I don't know if you'll be alive in a year or two, so I can't adopt your technology"). You can't hire someone else because you simply can't afford it, and the best people go to the USA anyway. It's immensely frustrating, the only thing that keeps us going is passion, but passion won't pay the bills. Before talking about unicorns we should talk about creating an healthier business environment.

[npizzolato]

> I heard so many times bullshit like "I don't know if you'll be alive in a year or two, so I can't adopt your technology"

I'm not sure why you think this is bullshit. Most startups fail. It seems like good sense to be wary of taking a dependency on another business that might not be around in the near future instead of an alternative that has already proven itself in the market.

[andreamazz]

Yeah, the problem is that with this line of reasoning a startup is destined to fail. If I don't get clients, I can't keep my business open. That's what irks me. How can I prove myself in the market if I don't get a chance?

[manishsharan]

If a potential buyer makes that excuse, sell them a expensive long term support contract and offer to put your Intellectual Property (code)in some form of escrow such that the buyers will have access to your code should you fail to support your product in 2 years.

Or become a IBM /HP/MS technology partner and sell through them.

Goodluck !

[redblacktree]

It sounds like you're trying to sell to late adopters at the early stage. Check out Crossing the Chasm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_the_Chasm

[radisb]

It seems that in Europe that's the only kind of adopters. If early adopters were plenty we wouldn't have this discussion in the first place

[ex3ndr]

You know, i am from russia and thought the same way. At some point of our startup journey i met some US startups. I know that they have no customers, but instead of writing noting about customers, they create solid page that describes in details how they help people. And this is game changer - you will never think that this is bullshit and company is weak.

[brc]

People sometimes fails to realise that sometimes little things stand in the way of big things.

A small startup has no momentum and little power.

The smallest obstacle can block progress.

Having to file endless forms and being unable to take on staff due to restrictive hiring regulations can stop a small company dead, unless they cheat at the regulations.

Most people don't understand that, and just say 'why can't they just submit the forms?'.

Sure, some companies have enough momentum and funding they roll right over those things. Those were always going to succeed.

What people don't see is all the promising ideas that stop dead at little blockages, and either die or go elsewhere. Maybe 1/10th of startups are destined for success, no matter what. Maybe 8/10ths are destined for failure, no matter what. The remaining 1/10th is a fragile new thing, and needs help to get rolling. Killing that 1/10th through bad regulation is enough.

Many people talk about the SV advantage being the networks of people and the can-do attitude towards building things. Just that little bit more fertile ground for startups has a big flow-on effect.

[tajen]

I confirm. The "autoentrepreneur" status in France is quite paperless, but there are still about 12 applications to lodge.

I'd also like to say that the cost of earning money is higher here. €10k takes one year to save for a very good employee. There are so many taxes when you earn something... I've once calculated that adding 10€ in my LTD sales provides me 3.20€ for personal spendings. So it's just much harder to reach a Unicorn valuation when it takes that much to gather money.

[noelsusman]

>I heard so many times bullshit like "I don't know if you'll be alive in a year or two, so I can't adopt your technology")

That's a completely valid reason to not take your business, and it's a problem that US startups face just as much. Personally I don't touch products from startups with a ten foot pole unless the benefit is overwhelmingly massive (very rare) or it's designed as a one time purchase with little necessary long term support.

If you're selling to businesses then longevity is going to be a top concern no matter where you go. Whatever benefit they get over your mainstream competitor is likely not worth it compared to the risk of incurring the cost of switching technologies twice in a short amount of time.

[rdancer]

Would you considered moving to another EU country? The opportunities are different, but the bureaucracy definitely more friendly in the UK for example.

[IndianAstronaut]

>I'm a cofounder of an italian startup, and the road is on an unbearably steep

Pardon the question, but I have read that organized crime is making a strong resurgence in Italy. Does this factor into your startup or affect it in any way?

[andreamazz]

Luckily no, organized crime is spread mostly on other regions, and as far as I know it doesn't seem involved in the ICT field. At least I hope :)

[hobo_mark]

And where did you hear that?

[IndianAstronaut]

http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21636046-italian-mobste...

[xacaxulu]

That's why I always get pumped when I think about @antirez killing it building Redis from Sicilia!