Self employment in Mexico City is a bit different than the startups you find in San Francisco.
No, it's not a bit different. It's completely different. It's another universe.
The vast majority of self employment in DF is a fruit stand or selling cigarettes at traffic lights (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I spent some time with an Italian entrepreneur a few weeks ago and he told me "we have three VCs in our country. and two are out of money."
The Sobering Reality of Entrepreneurship in the US is that we have it better than everybody else in the world, and even more so if you are an entrepreneur in SF, NY, Boston, Austin, etc.
Yes, the US economy is better than most places where entrepreneurship is a necessity. But it's also a world of paperwork, high tax and stifling administrative work -- and that's if you happen to be making a profit.
The problem is that the US is hostile to small businesses. Are you a single member LLC? Then you are personally liable for claims against your business. Want health insurance? Get ready to pay through the nose. How about at tax time? You'll have self-employment tax, and most likely special state taxes on businesses (NY has this) to look forward to. The list goes on.
If you have a successful software business and don't need to be in the US it's actually better to leave and run it elsewhere.
Do you think it's better anywhere else in the world. Up until a year ago, the country I am in made it inconceivable to be an entrepreneur. And they invented the fking word! You think paying taxes at tax time is bad. How about paying taxes before you are allowed to start your company.
If people could do a startup elsewhere you don't think they would already. Taxes, liability, and health care are the least of the problems for a startup.
You might as well be saying people should emigrate to country other than the US. There are far easier entry ports, yet the US still manages to be #1 no matter how many hoops they make you jump through.
Yes, many countries are better than the US for entrepreneurship. I'm sorry that France is not one of them, but that doesn't really speak for the rest of the world -- your countrymen invented the word 'entrepreneur,' but they also invented 'bureaucracy' and 'laissez-faire'.
In Austria, if you become unemployed, and want to use that as an opportunity to start a company, the govt will extend your unemployment benefits by 6-18 mos, and give you a big break on your social taxes for years.
Also, you get unemployment insurance as a self-employed person, as of a few years ago.
And, naturally, everyone - no matter what they do or how much they earn - is covered by social health insurance, which is excellent. (Also pensions!)
Also, yes, you have to come up with 20-30K euros to start a true LLC -- but you can do business for "free" as a selbständig, or self-employed person, including employing another. However, if you do set up an LLC, you can never be liable for more than that 20-30K euros - it is not a fee, it is an escrow. If you were to close the business, without outstanding liabilities, you would get your money back.
Taxes, liability and healthcare may SEEM like the least of worries for a startup -- right up to the point where they suddenly become life-or-death, mission-critical. Naturally.
You've only addressed the bureaucratic part of startup. Many countries are only now seeing the benefits of encouraging entrepreneurship instead of taxing them out of existence. But just because the government writes a decree doesn't mean everyone stops what they are doing to change course.
There is a reason its called a startup culture. It takes a societal shift to get one running not just a few tax incentives.
Also unemployment doesn't change it. There are certain people that have what it takes to run a successful startup. These people are in demand and are never unemployed.
No, it's not a bit different. It's completely different. It's another universe.
The vast majority of self employment in DF is a fruit stand or selling cigarettes at traffic lights (not that there's anything wrong with that).
I spent some time with an Italian entrepreneur a few weeks ago and he told me "we have three VCs in our country. and two are out of money."
The Sobering Reality of Entrepreneurship in the US is that we have it better than everybody else in the world, and even more so if you are an entrepreneur in SF, NY, Boston, Austin, etc.