'france' Tag
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Happiness is not driving a car
March 31, 2010David Brooks wrote a column in the IHT (NYT) yesterday about how the relationship between happiness and economic wealth is not directly correlated, and in fact after a point almost becomes inversely correlated. Brooks’ example is the recent Academy Award success of Sandra Bullock which was immediately followed by report of troubles in her matrimonial […]
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Immigration boosts entrepreneurship
March 26, 2010Despite his occasional bout of annoying repetitiveness (the world is flat : i got the point, no need for 600 pages), Thomas Friedman produces some inspirational columns, and this week’s on the Intel Science Talent Search is no exception in my humble opinion. Friedman’s column triggered my thinking about the importance of immigration in building […]
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Software à la française
March 18, 2010Last night I had a pseudo-intellectual discussion over dinner with a friend and former Paris resident visiting from the States. My friend is a competent business executive with myriad experiences in tech startups on both sides of the Atlantic, and he entertained me with some anecdotes of his disastrous experience at a once-hot French software […]
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Women Entrepreneurs in France
February 10, 2010Vivek Wadhwa’s article in last week’s BusinessWeek and comments made by Brad Feld on the subject were in the back of my mind when France unveiled yesterday its checklist in addressing the topic of French national identity. As some of you may be aware, France’s UMP party (which currently holds power) has recently initiated a […]
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Bankruptcies and the French VC Model
February 9, 2010Nic Brisbourne crafted a clear and cogent post yesterday about the economics of venture capital. Nic also references a similar blog post citing Bill Bryant, a former entrepreneur and now one of DFJ’s US venture partners. To be (almost unfairly) succinct, the VC model as practiced by the DFJ US is “for every 10 deals […]
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Top 10 List: Entrepreneurial traits in France
January 10, 2010George W. was only partially wrong when he inquired into the French equivalent of the word ‘entrepreneur’. Obviously, the word is the same in both languages. But is the definition? Here’s what I would consider to be the top 10 qualities I find attractive in an entrepreneur that is starting a business in France. This […]