Here's the actual conversation, as close to verbatim
as I can remember:
Q: What can we do to make Britain better for startups?
A: Well, when you're doing badly at something, the first
step is to admit it-- to say, Ok, we suck, now what
do we have to do to get better?
I certainly never said British startups suck. If I'd been getting specific, I might have said British investors did, but I didn't even say that.
This whole article reads like what I said run through a blender.
By the way, Mazen Araabi has some good data on startups outside the U.S.:
"Only one of these companies [consumer Internet startups founded since 2001 that have gone on to be acquired for over $100 million], YouTube, was founded in Silicon Valley. London is home to both Skype (which was also partially founded in Talin) and Last.fm, MySpace was founded in LA, ClubPenguin in Canada, and PhotoBucket in Denver."
This whole article reads like what I said run through a blender.