I'd bet that the countries with the lowest barriers to exiting bankruptcy (eg 6 months in the US) also have the highest start-up success rates.
Perhaps, but someone is still footing the bill for those failures that were able to write off debts they couldn't afford, so I wouldn't be too quick to assume a very liberal culture with regard to bankruptcy is always better.
Remember, bankruptcy doesn't just mean a company failed to make money, it implies that the company ran out of money without even paying its debts. In this context, that usually means taking on a bigger loan than it could afford to repay.
If banks are going to lend more money to businesses run by people who make that mistake, they're probably going to be putting up interest rates on loans across the board to pay for it. That's going to hit other businesses that are borderline successful in their early days instead, possibly even killing them off before they become established and sustainable.
I know it's popular around places like SV and around HN to talk up failure like it's a badge of honour and guarantees you'll have valuable experience to learn from for next time, but a failure is still a failure. Even if most one-time failures shouldn't merit the end of someone's entrepreneurial career, banks should lend responsibly and be hesitant about lending to someone with track record of not repaying their debts.
Perhaps, but someone is still footing the bill for those failures that were able to write off debts they couldn't afford, so I wouldn't be too quick to assume a very liberal culture with regard to bankruptcy is always better.
Remember, bankruptcy doesn't just mean a company failed to make money, it implies that the company ran out of money without even paying its debts. In this context, that usually means taking on a bigger loan than it could afford to repay.
If banks are going to lend more money to businesses run by people who make that mistake, they're probably going to be putting up interest rates on loans across the board to pay for it. That's going to hit other businesses that are borderline successful in their early days instead, possibly even killing them off before they become established and sustainable.
I know it's popular around places like SV and around HN to talk up failure like it's a badge of honour and guarantees you'll have valuable experience to learn from for next time, but a failure is still a failure. Even if most one-time failures shouldn't merit the end of someone's entrepreneurial career, banks should lend responsibly and be hesitant about lending to someone with track record of not repaying their debts.