Why Every International Founder Should Spend Three Months in the U.S.
A guest post by investor and writer Guillermo Flor
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Weâre doing something a little different this week with a guest post!
Guillermo Flor is an entrepreneur and investor from Spain. He also writes two popular newsletters here on Substack: Product Market Fit and The AI Opportunity.
We often try to convince great international founders to move to America for our 12-week startup program, but Flor makes the argument that every international founder should try spending a few months in the U.S. Weâll let him take it from here.
Iâve always felt the urge to build things, but I could never see a clear path to do so here in Spain.
But after university, I took a job working as a lawyer, and thatâs where I discovered startups. I knew instantly I wanted to be part of that world, so I quit my job and started my first company.
In short: It failed.
But honestly, looking back, I had so little skill that itâs kind of a miracle I managed to raise some venture capital and get early traction.
That first attempt kicked off a nonstop learning curve. I eventually made my way into venture capital, started building an audience of founders and investors, and launched my two newsletters. It was a new phase of my journey. Recently, that journey took me to the U.S. Thatâs what changed everything.
In San Francisco I met founders, recorded a podcast with the CEO of Substack, and attended a16z speedrunâs Demo Day. A few months later I attended New York Tech Week, which was on another level. A thousand events in a single week. Thousands of builders, operators, creators, investors. The density of ambition and talent was something Iâve never seen in Europeânot even across an entire year, let alone in one city in a single week.
Every conversation I had and every event I joined made me think faster, bigger.
And thatâs when it hit me: Every international founder needs to experience this.
This is why.
1. Higher Levels of Openness
Thereâs a level of openness to new ideas in the U.S. that you donât find in Europe.
Founders are open. Investors are open. Executives are open. Everyoneâs default mindset is:
âLetâs talk, letâs build, letâs try something.â
In Europe, people are more guarded. They want to see pedigree, traction, connections. In the U.S., if youâre building something interestingâeven if youâre unknownâpeople will give you a shot.
That openness alone can 10x your chances of building something great. Itâs funny because one of the traits of great innovators according to Marc Andreessen is openness.
2. The Bias Toward Action Is Insane
Americans donât waste time. If something seems like a good idea, they do it.
During New York Tech Week, I cold messaged the CEO of WeWork to invite him onto a podcast. He replied the same day. We recorded the next day.
This is the CEO of a $2B company. That would never happen in Europe. Youâd go through layers of assistants, schedule a call a month later, and almost certainly get a âno.â
That kind of fast-paced, action-first culture is what gets startups off the ground. And itâs contagious.
3. Respect for Builders, Even Early Ones
In Europe, if youâre just starting out, people donât take you seriously. Itâs like: âCome back when youâve raised a big round or hit âŹ1M ARR.â
In the U.S., itâs the opposite. Thereâs deep respect for people who are building, no matter the stage. You can sell to big companies early. Theyâll take meetings if they believe in what youâre doing. Because they respect ambition, not just outcomes.
That mindset makes it possible to move faster, get early customers, and build momentum.
4. Thinking Big Is Normal
In Spain, thinking big is⊠suspicious. If you say you want to build a billion-dollar company, people might roll their eyes. Or ask, âWhy?â Or say something like, âThatâs American nonsense.â
In San Francisco, thinking big is the default. Everyone you meet is working on something insane: new AI models, climate tech, hard science. It creates this energy â like everything is possible. And when youâre in that environment, you start believing it too.
You give yourself permission to dream bigger. You start taking bigger swings. You stop apologizing for wanting to win.
And that changes everything.
5. The Talent Density Is Unmatched
This might be the biggest one.
San Francisco is full of the smartest, most ambitious people from all over the world, many of whom are trying to solve the worldâs biggest problems using tech.
Itâs not just the startups. Itâs the coffee shop conversations. The random intros. The DMs that turn into cofounder partnerships. You level up just by being there. The bar is higher, the tempo is faster, and you realize how much more is possible when you're around that kind of talent.
If youâre an international founder, you might not need to move to the U.S. permanently. But you do need to go.
Spend three months there, every year, especially in the early years of your career.
It will open your mind, expand your ambition, and collapse your learning curve in ways Europe or many other places simply canât. (At least, not yet.)
âGuillermo Flor
Thatâs it for this week!
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Thanks for letting me share this! đđđ„đ„
Great one guys!