Growing a startup community the proper way
In Singapore, the investment firms and startup funds are heavily driven by government backing as compared to the US, where there is little or no government funding at all. “I think a very strong government funding creates the feeling of a big safety net. So it discourages risk taking. It discourages the desire to shoot for the moon, to be a Mark Zuckerberg or a Bill Gates,” said Ashok.
And that is why he does not see a Zuckerberg-scale entrepreneur coming out of Singapore yet. However, he believes that India is capable of producing one. ” So many people have come up in India because they have done it in spite of the government,” he said, adding that he believes that a less supportive government may instill a stronger entrepreneurial drive in the community.
Anil shared similar sentiments. “Entrepreneurship and governments don’t go together,” Anil said, adding that government assistance is essential but only until a point. Although he values the support that the Singaporean government is pouring into the community, Anil cautions against making sure that the method employed is the correct one.
“It [government assistance] can take out a lot of obstacles but don’t be in play of telling entrepreneurs what to do and how to do it. Let entrepreneurs figure out how to be successful,” Anil said.
