Differences between running a startup in Sweden and a startup in Silicon Valley. Bonus: How Neo Technology (Neo4j) uses aspects of Scandinavian culture as a competitive advantage. Presented at the Nordic themed Monki Gräs in London, Jan of 2015.
Btw, we at Neo4j are hiring: http://neo4j.com/jobs/ :)
7. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential
Reflections on
running a startup in
Sweden vs The Valley
*My* perspective
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“On a per capita basis, Stockholm is the
second most prolific tech hub globally,
with 6.3 billion-dollar companies per million
people (compared to the Valley with 6.9)”
http://www.zdnet.com/article/stockholm-is-the-most-prolific-billion-dollar-startup-hub-behind-silicon-valley/
10. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential
… and this
“Tax burden as percentage of
GDP”
(OECD 2010)
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My Observations (thus far)
• Let’s compare Sweden and the valley along six five
axes:
• Skill set
• Funding
• Government & Policy
• Culture
• Market
• NGO (Nitty-Gritty Operations!)
• Warning: Bring huge grain of salt. All of these are
just subjective reflections and heavily (enterprise)
software biased.
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Skillset - Hackers
• Very high average skill
• High and early internet
penetration
• Predated by early PC
penetration (“home PC
reform”)
• Probably among the best in the
world when it comes to mobile
(because unlike in the valley,
mobile phones actually work)
• Employee affinity is higher <—
compounding effect of this is
huge!
Swedland The Valley
• The best in the valley are
the best in the world
• Deep technology mainly
based on experience
from leading tech
companies like
Facebook, Google, etc
• But combined with a
general savviness about
running a startup
• Most sophisticated and
influential early adopters in
the world
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Skillset - Mentors
• Very few
• Most (but not all!)
suck, because if they
didn’t they already
moved to London or
the Valley
• There’s a strong
positive first derivative
here — huge diff vs a
few years ago
Swedland The Valley
• Most experienced and
clueful in the world. (x)
• Most willing to share in
the world. (y)
• x * y = leaps and
bounds ahead of
anyone else in the world
• Don’t think anyone
will catch up for
several decades
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Government & Policy
• Some immature legislation,
e.g. around stock options
• Strong labor laws
• “Quick to hire, never fire”
• But legislation / policy don’t
really move the needle in
either direction in my
experience:
• Taxes don’t really matter
• Setting up a company is
equally easy
Swedland The Valley
• I guess very pro-
business?
• In reality just
seems pro lawyer
to me
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Culture
• Less quarter capitalism
than the valley and more
long-term sustainability
• OTOH, less “shooting
for the stars”
• Supposed challenges
that haven’t been a
problem (for me):
• Cultural fear of failure
• Lack of fellow
entrepreneurs
Swedland The Valley
• Echo chamber
rocks for staying
on the leadin’
bleedin’ edge
• Everyone’s as
clued in about
startups as you
are
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Market
• Small domestic market
• Swedish is only
spoken in Sweden
(and some 5% of
Finland)
• Companies have to go
outside of Sweden for
scale
• For good and for
bad
Swedland The Valley
• Harmonized, US
domestic market,
strongest
economy in the
world
• High influence
consumers, trend
setters
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“Nitty-Gritty Operations”
• Trust makes a lot of
things easier
• Invoices are kinda
cool
• The social fabric in
Sweden is very
powerful
• Parental leave,
medical benefits,
daycare, etc
Swedland The Valley
• Guilty until proven
otherwise (and
probably a little bit
longer)
• Service providers
galore
• But everything in the
valley is less friction
and more liquid
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So why again?
• Why does Sweden have a
disproportionate (to its population)
amount of “global” startups?
• Some ideas:
• Small domestic market — has to go
outside
• High PC penetration -> Internet penetration
-> Working Mobile technology
• Good English
• Reaaaally cold winters?
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From
The
N
eo
C
ulture
D
eck
How we use (aspects of)
Scandinavian culture
as a competitive advantage
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Cultural Identity
I frequently say that I want to create an American
company with a Swedish soul. What does that mean?
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<oooh! movie time!>
http://youtu.be/SX1rQdUl8-M?t=59s
22. Neo Technology, Inc Confidential
We value good consensus(tm) and
intellectually honest discussions
• There’s Good Consensus(tm) and Bad Consensus(tm)
• Bad Consensus
• Analysis paralysis /
Dragged out discussions /
Deadlocks
• Countered by clear decision-
making authority and
narrowly defined groups
• Good Consensus
• Buy in from all parties who will execute on a particular task
• Leads to alignment and more efficient execution
• Enables one of the strongest forces on earth: intrinsic
motivation
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We value good consensus(tm) and
intellectually honest discussions
facts + logic
judged on merit, not origin
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We value good consensus(tm) and
intellectually honest discussions
• Furthermore, we invite and expect Neo employees
to challenge decisions-in-the-making.
• It is NOT ok to sit
back and watch Neo
go in a direction you
believe is wrong.
Speak up!
• But we balance that
by disagreeing and
then committing:
once a decision has been made, it doesn’t matter
if we agreed or disagreed. Then we execute.