СЕО і засновник британської ІТ-компанії Ruliad та ініціативи Project Ukraine Артур Корвін Пауеллс вважає, що саме стрімкий розвиток стартапів має шанс зробити Україну новою Кремнієвою долиною Європи, але на цьому шляху ми можемо потрапити у «пастку аутсорсу».
Arthur Corwin Powells, CEO and founder of the British IT company Ruliad and the Project Ukraine initiative, believes that it is the rapid development of startups that has a chance to make Ukraine the new Silicon Valley of Europe, but along the way we can fall into the «outsource trap».
«Europe has a history of incredible startups. Mercedes-Benz is a startup. Bosch is a startup. But can you remember when was the last European startup that scaled globally? It is time to admit: Europe is a continent that has almost turned into a museum. Many countries do not create anything, but feed on their ancient past. Europe has a chance to be revived by the drive of innovation. Ukraine can give it this drive», — Arthur Corwin Powells expressed his opinion in a column for NV.ua.
He also reminded that the European continent is 30 times less efficient than America in terms of company capitalization per capita.
The founder of the IT company Ruliad believes that Ukraine «has a software code that the West lacks.»
«There is no such thing in any Western country. And there are excellent specialists. Unfortunately, many of them fell into the outsourcing trap. Working for foreign companies, they seem to make good money. But in the West, the salaries of specialists of a similar level are much higher, because the products they produce are based in these countries. That is why it is so important to make your products in Ukraine and scale them to the whole world, developing the economy of your country. The outsourcing trap can be used against itself: the experience gained at outsourcing will allow Ukrainians to free themselves from it,» added the British IT citizen.
In his opinion, with a developed startup culture, Ukraine can become an «alternative center of gravity.»
«After the end of the war, huge amounts of money will flow into Ukraine, and therefore there will be a temptation for corruption. The only way to defeat corruption is to „sow“ small local grassroots — small movements, startups. They will become a magnet that will attract and retain investment — without this, the financial flow will soon dry up, as investors will quickly lose interest. Now is the time to plant the first seeds so that when the war is over, the growth will begin,» said Arthur Corwin Powells.
