[jajko]

> I would attribute low startup numbers to cultural risk aversion of Germans

Which is literally one aspect of how easy or hard it is to create a startup and get it somewhere. Can't fire people quickly enough since market is changing daily? Well it will be a nightmare for the owners to become or remain relevant enough to stay afloat.

I am not bashing EU just to be clear, having more job stability has tons of long term positive consequences on population's mental state and 2nd and 3rd order positive effects (the usage of various 'mental' medication in US seems to be ridiculously high compared to 3 countries in Europe I've lived in for example), but good environment for agile fail fast startups it ain't.

[leononame]

In Germany specifically, but I'd guess it applies to most other countries as well, these strict rules apply once you have 11 employees. A lot of startups work with contractors anyways. And you can always fire people if your company needs it to survive.

As far as I'm aware, California has some of the strongest labor protection laws in the US, yet lots of startups. There's clearly more factors involved than labor protection laws, e.g. VC money, culture, etc.

Sure, stronger labor protection might be a result of cultural risk aversion. But I'd be very hesitant to call it "literally one aspect of how easy or hard it is to create a startup and get it somewhere"

[jajko]

I didn't say its the only aspect, just one of key ones. Bureaucracy must be another critical aspect, one reason why ie France or Italy are literally centuries behind with very little to no hope to ever catch up given its population priorities.

I agree with what you say, SV culture and sheer amount of startup-compatible talent plays a massive role too. Its a momentum that would take half a century of dedicated effort to even catch up.

[zarzavat]

The thesis of the article is broadly correct but the reasoning it uses to get there is questionable.

Every country has its quirks. The US has a very high cost of living and consequent high salaries. No wonder it’s important to be able to fire workers quickly. The high wages are also more than balanced by the amount of capital available.

In Germany it’s harder to fire workers but they also get paid a fraction of their counterparts in the US, so there’s not such a rush.

I wouldn’t start a startup in Germany either, because of the insane dysfunction of German bureaucracy. The money is not even a factor when dealing with the system is already such a pain.