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by dataker 2841 days ago
I'm Brazilian and I tried building a company there after two successful products both in the EU and US.

Brazil simply doesn't have the culture that's necessary to foster a startup ecosystem.

Chile is in a much better position to be that sort of local leader, but still only relatively.

And it's not something you can change by prosecuting corrupt politicians - it goes all the way back to our colonial heritage, and the crookedness and "classicism" will always hinder the progress of companies and, more sadly, great engineers and entrepneurs.

This stereotype that "we're the most creative" is just another self entitlement like soccer or beautiful women that may build a brand, but certainly doesn't represent reality or live it up to its expectations.

I've come to realize that a Brazilian in power is often a synonym of extreme arrogance, shallowness, selfishness and an unbearable classicism that leads to an unfathomable mistreatment of both customers and employees.

It's unlike any other elites from the western world. It might compare to some countries in Africa.

If you're an investor thinking about Brazil , either understand and live by that culture or lose your money. They won't change the habits they gathered for a lifetime just because you have money or moral authority.

If you're Brazilian and talented, either as an engineer or entrepreneur, get out. Look for jobs remotely, incorporate a company in another country, find a market fit in a healthy economy that selects based on the productivity, efficiency and quality of your work.

Don't gamble your potential, talent and safety for the sake of FOMO on companies that rich, talentless, spoiled kids built with family money, and even our own (as taxpayers).

4 comments

Since I can't downvote, I just wanted to note I find your comment really offensive. Is the current zeigeist is to devalue anything remotely Brazilian? My experience is the absolute opposite of yours. I've built companies here that worked with very little prior experience. I've worked with lost of spectacular leaders, made really good money, and seen many things technology and business-wise improve dramatically over time.

It's hard to have a constructive debate about specifics on this thread because your post is essentially a list of negative generalities. But to take your first point, why would you say we don't have a startup ecosystem? I see dozens of startups around me that are bustling, hiring, taking financing, failing, pivoting, growing. Just in my small city we have Arquivei & Monitora who are success stories, and many that have gone through at least one funding round. A new startup center, ONOVOLAB, was set up here this year. There are other examples nationwide. Gosh, Google just opened its own accelerator here after witnessing the success of others' existing programs. It can't be as bleak as you are painting.

Are you a developer?

I'm sure there are exceptions, but the majority of cases always rules.

There's an entire historical background that explains why most "executives" and founders see programmers, or any employee of any sort, as obedients servs that must compel and be grateful for their jobs.

That "classism" will always be present and act as the strongest force against innovation in that country.

Technology is not a factory and, whenever you try to modularize it in such form, you see mediocre, subpar, results.

There might have some small local companies that are able to challenge the even worse local oligarchs from past generations, but they will never be able to compete at a global level, as you'd expect from a real startup ecosystem.

And if they end up facing an international competitor, they might as well be crushed or acquired by them.

I don't get into a personal attack here, but you may want to experience more in depth some of these places like SF, Israel, Chile, Paris, Berlin to understand these profound cultural differences.

I started my career as a developer, working at Promon on the Tropico R and RA exchanges, and then shifted completely to Linux and open source development, which is when I founded my first companies. I don't really do a lot of real coding any longer, though.

I see the symptoms you describe, of our startups being less globally impactful [1], as a natural consequence of a smaller, more internally focused [2], and less mature ecosystem, but I don't see all the dysfunction you allude to. I have worked with poor leaders and good ones in Brazil and abroad, and I can't say Brazil tends to any of the extremes of the spectrum. Yeah, there's an oligarchy that has a strong effect on the ability for an entrepreneur (or employee) to "make it", but name a country where there isn't one?

I write this mostly for the benefit of this thread, as I don't think you're really approaching this discussion with useful data or an open mind.

[1] although you have Movile, 99Taxis, iFood to serve as counterpoints to that generalization

[2] your comment on global reach being an important metric reminded me of Nubank, and this article from earlier in the year: https://epocanegocios.globo.com/Empreendedorismo/noticia/201...

> Brazil simply has no culture to foster an ecosystem of startups.

Yes. A startups incubator in Brazil had a 'pool of developers': if a startup needed a developer, just enter the pool. Incubator startups had just one busines founder, never a technical founder. The technical things in Brazilian culture are irrelevant (any 'manual work' is, and developer is a manual work in Brazil culture).

> If you're Brazilian and talented, either as an engineer or entrepreneur, get out. Look for jobs remotely, incorporate a company in another country, find a market fit in a healthy economy that selects based on the productivity, efficiency and quality of your work.

Sadly, this is very true.

I believe you mean "classism".