[stefanix]

True. Here is the thing that works well in Austria: the ramen stage. The standard of living you can have on little income is phenomenal. Hardly a country like it. The trick is to keep all the capital in the company, pay the 25% corporate income tax, and only cash out once you made it. Total taxes will still be in the 50% range but if you fail you will still have had a nice ride.

Hiring people in Austria is another issue. Part of the high standard of living is all the employee protections. E.g. by US standards there is an ungodly amount of holidays. If you are a core team of founders or hire people remotely this can be mitigated.

Actually counter intuitive why Austrians tend to be more risk adverse. It's really a mental block rather than a systemic issue.

[stewbrew]

It's a common (Austrian) myth that Austrians are risk averse and conservative. It's all about "Gemütlichkeit". I remember some studies though that e.g. the Austrian labour market has greater fluctuations than in some neighboring countries. Also recent studies have shown that income inequality is quite high -- contrary to a common belief. Super rich people have a good time in Austria.