The UK’s Silent Startup Killer

That’s an awesome ambition, huge vision, incredibly large market, but do you not think it’s too big? If it was such a great idea someone in the States would be building this right now, Andreessen Horowitz would have invested in it already, Naval Ravikant or Tim Ferriss would be talking about it on their Podcasts or Tweeting about it. I think, and this is just me, you’d be better working on something smaller. Find a different market, one that people in the UK can grasp ahold of, understand and invest in. This won’t be done from here. Sorry.

— Leading British Startup Mentor

When talking to British business people or investors I’ve often lead with a quip that’s meant to be amusing but has increasingly proved to be painfully real.

The UK is 10X as conservative as the USA
Scotland is 10X as conservative as the rest of the UK

It’s meant to be a joke which reflects on certain experiences I’ve had but, like all good punchlines, it’s funny because it’s true. The UK lags behind US investment markets because we refuse to embrace a global outlook when trying to build products and services that can literally change the world. There is some part of the collective British spirit that finds it incredibly difficult to fund and encourage globally ambitious people. People aching to change the world become…