If you’re a founder in Europe, you should move to the US. At every stage of your company’s life, your odds of success are better here.
Let’s take a look at all the advantages an American company has, from day one to IPO…
Day 1: Getting Funded
A key first step for many startups is an accelerator. The best ones are here, and they want you in person.
YC rules the roost. But there are other wonderful accelerators like Launch, Techstars, and ERA. All of them provide a six figure investment and incredible support.
Europe has accelerators too. But they’re much smaller. They tend to provide less cash to fewer companies per year.
This lowers your odds of getting funded.
Building: Diamonds Sharpen Diamonds
In a fascinating post from Reddit’s r/startups, the founders of YC startup Lago describe what happens when European founders come to America.
Their friends found a higher level of competition right away. The American startups in their YC cohort moved fast, so they started to do the same.
Culturally, Europe is risk averse. People who fail are radioactive.
For these European founders, exposure to a risk-seeking culture helped them change their mindset and be more successful.
Finding Your First Customers
Okay, you got funded and built a product. Time to find some customers!
If you meet a customer face-to-face, he’s more likely to buy your product. So why not go where the customers are?
No matter who you sell to, the best place to meet them is in America. Fortune 500’s, fast moving startups, they’re all here.
And it’s going to be much easier to sell to them across a table than over Zoom from Berlin.
Scaling: Where the Best Talent Is
Your company will be as good as the people you hire. And if we’re talking tech, the best potential hires are here in America.
We have the most experienced engineers. We also have the sales people who have scaled companies to millions and billions of revenue.
If you recruit in Paris or Milan, you can find a few good people. But the talent pool is an inch deep. Every hire will be a struggle.
Or, you could park yourself in SF or NYC and hire as many great people as you need.
Success: European Politicians Hate It
European politicians try to destroy anything new. They hate innovation, they hate technology, and they hate capitalism.
Don’t believe me? Ask Oscar Pierre, the founder of Glovo.
Oscar is facing 6 years in prison for “misclassifying” delivery workers as self-employed. In America, that’s a lawsuit at worst. In Spain, he could wind up behind bars.
Behind bars, for doing something dozens of companies all over the world do — delivering food.
It’s so hard for your startup to succeed in Europe. And if you beat the odds and make it big, some brain dead politician is standing there with handcuffs.
Just get out. Come to America where you don’t have to worry about this.
Wrap-Up
Europe is beautiful and has so many wonderful cultures. But it’s not the right place to build a startup.
Is it possible to succeed there? Sure. Klarna, Spotify, Monzo, they’ve all done it.
But the odds of success are lower. And you want to give yourself every advantage.
Come to New York. Come to Austin. Come to SF.
We want you. We need you. We will help you succeed.
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