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Asia, not Silicon Valley, is where the action is

I am a serial entrepreneur who established several ventures in the United States, going back to 1982, and one of them — from 2000 to 2006 — hit the jackpot.

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Lawrence Hughes

I am a serial entrepreneur who established several ventures in the United States, going back to 1982, and one of them — from 2000 to 2006 — hit the jackpot.

America has since lost its edge in innovation and entrepreneurship — there are less than half the start-ups in the US today as there were 10 years ago.

The government has grown too large, intrusive and powerful, and takes the rewards that might otherwise motivate people to do the incredibly hard work and take outrageous risks required to launch real companies.

I relocated to Singapore and almost immediately found funding both from the Government and soon from a venture capitalist looking for ventures based here.

I cannot do what I am trying to do in the US any more, but I can do it in Singapore.

One of the things that makes this possible is zero capital gains taxes — the less funds the Government sucks from entrepreneurs and start-ups, especially during the early stage, the more of them will survive.

In the US, individuals become world-class by going to work for the leading company in the world in some area and learning everything they can from the people there. This is far more effective than any university.

Often, the best talent is found in start-ups, not in large companies. I feel the Infocomm Development Authority is doing some great things, as is Block 71, a community for start-ups, and TiE SG, an ecosystem of Asian entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capitalists and industry professionals.

In Singapore, more people are willing to take risks and think way outside the box.

This — and many other places around Asia — is where the action is, not Silicon Valley, although many of the ideas hatched there are worth copying, such as universal incentive stock options and successful people becoming angels and mentors for the next generation. But this is starting to happen here.

Parents need to put less pressure on their children to get a “respectable” job with a bank or law firm and encourage them to take risks on working in a small start-up. That is where the real opportunity is.

I am very encouraged by what I have found in Singapore in terms of an emerging innovation ecosystem. Other entrepreneurs and visionaries from the US and the European Union should be encouraged to come to Singapore and help build the next start-up haven. A lot of the best talent there is looking for a way out of a deteriorating situation.

When foreign entrepreneurs who have “been there, done that” get things going here, Singaporeans can learn from them and take over the lead.

This letter first appeared as a comment on Channel NewsAsia’s Talking Point Facebook page

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