--- title: "Make room for startups" url: https://mikitaaharodni.com/essays/make-room-for-startups/ language: en --- # Make room for startups 2026-10-30 · Mikita Aharodni · Personal essay Originally written in Russian. On September 1, 2026, at the G20 Innovation Ministerial, Elon Musk was asked what separates countries where technological breakthroughs become real products from countries where progress stalls. What stayed with me was his comparison between companies and trees. Large corporations are mature trees. They already have capital, infrastructure, experience, connections and access to government leaders. Startups are small saplings. They are still fragile, with limited resources. An obstacle a large company barely notices can stop a young team from growing. Yet, Musk argued, governments often give too much support to the large trees and too little to the small ones. I would take three ideas from that conversation and add two conclusions of my own. ## 1. Help new companies emerge When a government wants to develop technology, it is easier to talk to companies that are already large and visible. They have people who know how to prepare applications, participate in support programmes and explain their interests to decision-makers. A small team may have little more than a product, a few people and limited time. I think one way to judge an entrepreneurial environment is to ask how easily a company nobody knows yet can grow within it. ## 2. Default legal, not default illegal Musk's second point was that new things should be legal by default rather than illegal by default. My interpretation is that a technology being new should not, by itself, prevent people from trying it. Restrictions need specific reasons and clear rules. Uncertainty costs a startup money too. While a team is trying to establish whether it is even allowed to build its product, its time and resources are running out. Being able to test an idea quickly, get feedback and correct mistakes is an important part of its chance to survive. ## 3. Talent alone is not enough Musk also pointed to the need for venture capital. A country can have strong universities, talented engineers and good scientific research. There is still a journey between a discovery and a product, and someone needs to finance it. A startup may spend a long time testing its technology, looking for a suitable market and building its first team before it makes a profit. A conventional loan does not always fit that kind of project: repayments are due whether or not the hypothesis works. That is why investors willing to accept high risks matter. They need to understand that some companies will not grow. Without that capital, talent and research may never become a working business. ## 4. An entrepreneurial culture matters This is where my own conclusions begin: money alone is not enough either. A strong startup environment develops when many people have an interest in helping new companies grow. Someone introduces a founder to a first customer. Someone else reviews a presentation, shares experience or helps find an employee. Entrepreneurs talk about what went wrong as well as what went well. The next team does not have to start from scratch every time. I like the idea that helping other founders is an ordinary part of entrepreneurship. You do not have to be an investor or a government official to make the environment around you a little stronger. ## 5. Failure should leave room for another attempt Another principle that matters to me is that a failed startup should not destroy its founder's career. Someone's first company may not work out. That alone does not mean they are no longer capable of building something useful. An honest failure can provide experience for the next attempt: a better understanding of customers, more care with money and an earlier recognition of problems within a team. If closing a company leaves someone permanently labelled a failure, starting becomes more frightening. Some people who could have created something new will never try. So the number of startups created is not the only thing that matters for a country. It also matters how easily an entrepreneur can start again. To me, that is the question for the whole system: can a small team get a chance to grow, and will it still have the opportunity to try again if the first attempt does not work? Sources: White House announcement about the G20 Innovation Ministerial on September 1–2, 2026: [https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2026/09/g20-innovation-ministerial-concludes-with-consensus-statement/]() Video of Musk's remarks on new companies, venture capital and regulation: [https://finance.yahoo.com/video/why-elon-musk-says-new-tech-should-be-default-legal-145620594.html]() ## Site navigation - [About]() - [Projects]() - [Essays]() - [News]() - [Research]() - [People]()