
Can Russia Build A Silicon Valley? - transburgh
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/12/can-russia-build-a-silicon-valley/
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tomjen3
Ha, not as long as they are as corrupt as they are.

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SkyMarshal
Good overview. I'd think one of the major problems, which Vivek lumped into
the general topic 'corruption', is the Russian Mafia. Tech startups are
already hard enough without having to worry about catching the attention of
the mob if you succeed at making money.

Good prescriptions though, and I'd never heard of the
<http://www.patentfreezone.com/> before.

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osipov
The term "Russian Mafia" is just as general and shallow as "corruption". The
reality is that "the mob" runs the gamut from petty thugs to sophisticated
criminal corporate raiders.

The root of the issue is whether Russia's criminal tactics for corporate
raiding apply to software startups. One can take over physical means of
productions, but the same is close to impossible to do with software.

Arguably the most important factor stopping growth of startups in Russia is
personal safety. Founders do startups to get rich. However in Russia financial
success brings unwanted attention to founders. There are plenty of thugs
salivating at an opportunity to go after a newly minted millionaire.

Most startup incubators in US & Europe offer help with networking, business &
investment mentoring. Perhaps incubators in Russia need to help founders with
personal security services.

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lipnitsk
I really liked the comment the author made about patents and the amount of
opportunity in Russia today. One could literally grab something that has been
proven to work well in the U.S. and do it there, making a lot of money in the
process. Now that is the theory and I'm aware of increased risk of running
business in Russia. However, it is definitely worth thinking about.

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known
No, because of
[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Corruption_in...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Corruption_in_Russia)

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sliverstorm
The moral of the story: Don't spout fire and brimstone at someone unless
you're prepared to back it up and give a presentation to the entire world
about it at a moment's notice.

