Shakil Khan, CoinDesk founder and early Spotify investor, contrasts entrepreneurial culture and social safety nets in the UK versus the US on the a16z Podcast.
“The country has never been as entrepreneurial as the USA has, and there's a number of social reasons and governmental reasons. One, we've got even though people may complain, we have a pretty amazing welfare system here, and a pretty amazing healthcare system here. When you know your roof is, you know above your head and the welfare will give you sufficient funds to feed your family and clothe yourself, and you've got a healthcare system, you've got an education system, You don't have the same challenges as an individual in many countries, including America, where if you get made redundant, your health insurance is the first thing that goes, and everything else goes with it.”
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More from Shaq (Shakil Khan)
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PredictionNot checkable as stated
Shakil Khan: TransferWise Could Exceed Spotify and Skype in Scale
“TransferWise is doing an amazing job, and I hope this goes down as, you know, one of the biggest companies ever to come out of Europe, up there with Spotify and Skype, or bigger than even those companies.”
Shaq (Shakil Khan)Jan 2, 2019▶ 33:21a16z Podcast | Scaling Ideas and Startups in the U.K. and Europe
PredictionNot checkable as stated
Khan: UK Lacks Multi-Billion Exits Needed for Capital Recycling
“We haven't had those major hit after hit of multi-billion dollar exits, whether in the private market or in the public markets, such as the Googles or the Facebook. So that trickle-down effect hasn't happened, and it'll be a while till it happens.”
Shaq (Shakil Khan)Jan 2, 2019▶ 2:37a16z Podcast | Scaling Ideas and Startups in the U.K. and Europe
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Khan: London Bankers Are Less Active in Tech Investing Than Wall Street
“I think the London Financial Centre versus tech are two separate things apart from where fintech is involved. They seem like two very different industries, unlike Wall Street where a lot of investment bankers are active in investing in tech startups.”
Shaq (Shakil Khan)Jan 2, 2019▶ 6:07a16z Podcast | Scaling Ideas and Startups in the U.K. and Europe
Insight
Khan: Small-market European startups succeed by designing globally from day one
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Shaq (Shakil Khan)Jan 2, 2019▶ 8:30a16z Podcast | Scaling Ideas and Startups in the U.K. and Europe
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