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Pierson: The US Possesses A Uniquely Supportive Culture For Ambitious Startups

Rich Pierson · Headspace: Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson (2019) · Jan 3, 2022 · at 51:23

Rich Pierson, co-founder of Headspace, compares British and American attitudes toward startup ideas when explaining why Headspace relocated from London to Los Angeles.

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“I think in the UK, you speak to someone about an idea, and they'll give you a thousand reasons why you can't do it, and I think in America, you say the same idea, and they go, there's a thousand reasons why it'll work, and have you thought about making it bigger, and can I introduce you to X, Y, and Z? And it's just a different, it's built into the culture and the psyche here in a way that it's not Extra. Like, you don't have to, it's kind of just part of the way that this country's being built, and I think that if you are positive and you dream big, like, there is no better place, I think, in the world to build a project like Headspace, and I think we felt like that.”

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