Forging a Swiss Lens: How Zurich's tech scene changed my view of SV
I have been involved with Swissnex and been advising Swiss startups for some time. I also go to Switzerland every other year if not every year and meet with startups there.<p>Things I noticed:<p>1. Incredibly smart people.<p>2. Behind Silicon Valley on best technology and product building practices by at least 2 years.<p>3. Great work ethic and social responsibility.<p>4. Do not have world conquering ambitions - which kinda works against them. One of the founders was talking about an idea and was being very conservative with market size estimates. So I suggested to him - Think about how you can conquer the world. And his reply was - We are Swiss, we don't conquer the world.<p>I think one of the biggest challenge for Switzerland tech scene is that there is no viable immigration path for a non-EU citizen. Even after decades, you might not get a citizenship [1]. It makes it difficult for them to attract talent from outside, especially those with Silicon Valley experience.<p>Not that US is any better for Indians. Based on current estimates, if someone from India applies for an employment based Green Card now, they might get it in 70 years. And life is a pain because you have to do a lot of paperwork throughout.<p>If there was a viable immigration path in Switzerland, I would move there tomorrow!<p>1. <a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/naturalisation-controversy_american-professor-denied-swiss-citizenship/41075124" rel="nofollow">https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/naturalisation-controversy_amer...</a>