(From elsewhere) Net/Net: 70% of vc still software. In Software, geography doesn

(From elsewhere)

Net/Net: 70% of vc still software. In Software, geography doesn’t matter. (Look what’s come out of little estonia’s micro-population. Look how little has come out of Germany.) So I look for (a) access to talent, (b) low cost of talent, (c) low cost of bureaucracy. (d) technical universities, (e) “Young Ambitious” culture. In my experience western europe is relatively hostile to entrepreneurship compared to the States and eastern europe. I can’t believe what a burden the UK banking and taxation system is. There isn’t even a legal equivalent of the USA’s S.A.F.E. agreement for investors. Lawyers, if you can find one that can think outside the box, are far less sophisticated. Regulatory accounting expensive and lacking all business value. European investment community is far less sophisticated, and far less experienced, and tends to ‘think small’. I’ve bought and sold companies across north america and europe and there just isn’t any comparison. That said i prefer european CULTURE, and european EMPLOYEES, and european LIFESTYLE, and that is why I prefer to develop software in Europe (rather eastern europe, or even russia).

Hopefully that adds some color.