Why UK startups should stop trying to be US startups

I've worked in Shoreditch for over 6 years. The startup people here don't dress like they do in Silicon Valley. And people in the UK use the word Awesome all the time. It might be an Americanisation but it's not on account of people trying to be like Twitter, it's because of the A Team and Knight Rider.<p>If people are asking whether they should spell it colour or color, that's probably the reason they are not doing well! What a ridiculously pointless thing to worry about.<p>For me there is an elephant in the room regarding UK startups not achieving the same sort of success as they do in the US. It's quite simple. People in the UK are far more risk averse than people in the US. It's a completely cultural thing, and it's not going to change any time soon.

Maybe this article is just highlighting one of the effects of the internet. Easier long-distance communication means more people are exposed to foreign language and ideas, especially between technologically literate English speakers. How long did it take for the phrase 'epic win' to spread across the globe?<p>I'm not sure this guy understands how much of the English-speaking internet is produced by Americans, especially relating to technology. I'm from the UK, and a huge proportion of my media comes from the US (hasn't this been the case for a really long time anyway?) Even programming language tutorials have words like 'awesome'. The Brits aren't faking it, they've adopted that language because they've heard it so often.<p>It's silly to tell people to stick to one set of social norms because of their place of birth. Every culture is a mishmash. And anyway, the internet is making culture less dependent on geographical location.

24yo from London here too. The author's point was:<p>'Whats toxic is that this then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, teams get funding because they look/sound the part. This means that there are more teams that succeed that fit the stereotype and on we go creating Tigertailz instead of the Beatles.'<p>Morgan is using metaphors to show how UK startups need to be themselves. Instead of aping US startups as much as possible in every way they can (for example: dress sense and language), they need to be themselves, focus on developing their own styles whatever that may be.

I think this commentary is relevant even within the U.S. It reminds me of companies like <a href="http://brainsonfire.com/" rel="nofollow">http://brainsonfire.com/</a> and <a href="http://bellstrike.com/" rel="nofollow">http://bellstrike.com/</a> who have put the plug in for their state (South Carolina) when they present themselves nationally. Despite presenting nationally and working internationally, Geno Church is so totally South Carolina in his speech and presentation. It's distinct. Some other examples come to mind as well, like <a href="http://sproutbox.com/" rel="nofollow">http://sproutbox.com/</a> and their pride of Bloomington, IN, etc.

The headline is a relevant one, but the article seems to focus on dress sense and accent? Imitation of success stories occurs in every walk of life - it just happens to be Silicon Valley people in this industry.<p>It's quite possible to be unique and have your own voice even if you are inspired by dressing and talking like Steve Jobs.

This does not just apply to the UK, it goes much farther, it applies to every place that is not Silicon Valley.

The underlying point which has nothing to do with nationality and merits ongoing consideration from every human being is that there's a fine line between learning from someone good and cargo culting.

Seems like the author is throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The key is to be thoughtful about what traits you learn from, not to give up on learning from others altogether.

Wow - tigertails were the shit. What happened to 'em?