My experience of growing up and joining tech startups in the UK in the 90s was fight against a prevailing culture of mediocrity, tall poppy syndrome, and snobbery; as though the practice of running a business and thereby making a real difference was a grubby low to which the high minded should not stoop. I was able to find like-minded people - usually those that’d travelled the world, and a high proportion of internationals - but we felt like a resented minority. This was often in stark contrast to the established expectation of academic excellence, where the UK has a long continuing history.

It’s one of the reasons I left.