Comment by nwellnhof
1 year ago
The mythical German "Mittelstand" again. This word is absolutely meaningless. It has been used to describe small businesses, but also companies like Robert Bosch GmbH which has 400,000 employees. "Mittelstand" is nothing but a vague idea Germans cling to, so they feel special.
"Mittelstand" is pretty well defined: A privately owned company that values long-term durability higher than short-term profits.
"mitte" is the middle. Those are companies that are contempt with an average size, they don't strive to grow. (Or to "go big or go home", like US VCs would advise.) Also, "Mittelstand" companies are usually family-owned, which means that the CEO cares much more about being able to pass the business on to his kids on 20 years, than about raising today's stock price with buy-backs and dividends. And especially so if you have a niche provider that keeps offering the same services for 10s of years, is run by a tight-knit group of relatives, and cares more about quality than profits, those will proudly advertise themselves as "Mittelstand".
I personally have never seen Bosch listed as Mittelstand. By definition, SMEs have less than 500 employees. Are you mistaking the concept with something else?
Bosch is a bit of an outlier due to its structure and age. But there are definitions that would include Meta as Mittelstand, like this one: https://www.ifm-bonn.org/en/definitions/mittelstand-definiti...
Not an accepted definition. The one used by the government (for projects) and the public includes revenue and amount of employees. Ownership by a family is not a factor at all.
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I am sure that there are a large number of small business in the field, anayway. It's not a "either or" proposition, either.
The article comes across as naive and idealistic. This was especially odd: "The average German—apart from those who’ve left the country and morphed into “tech bros”—isn’t particularly moved by shareholder value, especially when the Basic Law of Germany begins with “Human dignity shall be inviolable."
I agree with the proposoal to simplify and regulations but this is easier said that done because these are cultural aspects.
The idea that you should be able to start a business without risks or hard work is also perhaps more part of the problem than of the solution:
"A government program could provide salary grants based on experience, allowing these individuals to dedicate time to developing a digital product without compromising their quality of life or financial stability.*"
I would also think that someone who lives and work in Germany ought to be speaking German and would not require the German state to provide paperwork to start a company in English.
Lastly, regarding VAT exemption thresholds we perhaps need to look at the root cause of those exemptions and calls for higher thresholds: VAT rates in Europe are ridiculously high and that is in turn caused by the size of the state.
> you should be able to start a business without risks or hard work
Not everyone thinks they should ruin their health and have no personal life for a 0.01% chance that those stock options are worth something.
> I would also think that someone who lives and work in Germany ought to be speaking German
Newsflash: there's an European Union with the right to work and live anywhere inside its borders. They speak a couple different languages in there already. What's one more?
> I would also think that someone who lives and work in Germany ought to be speaking German and would not require the German state to provide paperwork to start a company in English.
Wow what a great way to invite even more talent to your country
What is this idea that a country should bend over backwards to "invite talent"? Especially with the underlying implication that it is not for the "talent" to make any efforts. Is Germany that desperate?
If you move to Germany at some point you need to learn German, don't you?
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Not too big, not too small, very cozy. I need it.