I recently read that Ukrainian startups are invited to participate in StartupGrind, an exhibition in California. And I wondered, how will the organizers of this Ukrainian section determine who is a Ukrainian startup and who is not? I have some interesting ideas, I want to share with you.
First, I think it’s worth checking the passport. It should be issued by one of the district police departments in Ukraine. It is important to pay attention to the date of issue. If it’s from Simferopol or Luhansk, and the passport was issued last year, then what kind of Ukraine is this and what kind of Ukrainian startup is this? We don’t need such startups, they belong in another section.
In the passport, special attention should be paid to the place of birth. Even if the passport is issued by Ukraine, the birthplace could be, for example, St. Petersburg. Or, even worse, Leningrad. Such startups must be categorically excluded from the Ukrainian section.
Special attention should be paid to the “nationality” field, it should clearly state “Ukrainian” for both male and female. No “Belarusian”, “Tatar”, or, God forbid, “Russian”. This is the Ukrainian section, not any other!
Next, it is necessary to check the mother’s surname. If it’s Goltsman or Katsenelenbogen, then it’s clear that this startup cannot be called Ukrainian. They should be in another section at the exhibition, according to their nationality.
If the “nationality” field matches, and the parents’ surnames do not raise suspicions, it is advisable to carefully look at the appearance of the startup: it can speak for itself. It will be easy to identify and exclude a Kazakh, Indian, or, say, a black person, no matter how they try to hide their national identity behind passport data. It will be more difficult with Jews, Russians, or, say, Estonians. It will be harder to distinguish them, but it is also possible, for example, based on external anthropometric characteristics.
It will also be useful to test their knowledge of the Ukrainian language and literature. A Ukrainian startup must know and love Ostap Vishnya, Mikhail Kotsyubynsky, and Marko Vovchok. Naturally, they should speak fluent Ukrainian.
Also, attention should be paid to the connections the startup has with Russia. It is absolutely obvious that Ukrainian startups are not Russian startups. There is a huge difference between them, and we must be vigilant. It is easiest to demand a certificate of no relatives in Russia and its occupied territories.
Lastly, it is necessary to conduct a detailed interview with each startup to determine their political views and their stance on the annexation of Crimea, the unity of Ukraine, the role of the OUN-UPA in World War II, and Vladimir Putin as the main villain of modern times. We must not allow unreliable elements to appear in the Ukrainian section at such a major California conference.
Do you have any ideas on how to help the organizers of the Ukrainian section find those who have the right to proudly bear the name “Ukrainian startups”?
And now let’s get serious. Who are Ukrainians really? Those who have a passport or those who speak the language of Shevchenko? Is it nationality or citizenship? And why do we need to divide people into Ukrainians, Russians, Tatars, and Jews? Who do you think benefits from this division?
I will answer. It benefits those who speculate on one of the strongest human emotions - hatred. Conference organizers, as well as most politicians, play the card of xenophobia, which is always a trump card when dealing with stupidity: we are Ukrainians and that is important.
It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.
Maybe it’s time to stop being proud of Ukraine? Maybe it’s time to start being proud of products, technologies, knowledge, achievements, no matter who and on what territory they were created? You don’t care about the color of Albert Einstein’s passport or the nationality of Henry Ford. You don’t care where Niels Bohr, Nikola Tesla or Norbert Wiener were born, lived, and what language they spoke. So why should Ukrainian startups be important to us now?
Ukraine, like any other state, is just a territory on the map, temporarily surrounded by a fence with gates for customs control. As you can see, the shape of this territory has changed significantly over the past few years. Over the next 10-20 years, it will change even more, in one direction or another. Whether it becomes larger or smaller, I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter. It’s not about the territory or the name, it’s about us. It’s about what we do, write, create, build, invent.
Stop building Ukrainian startups. Let’s build successful ones.
Translated by ChatGPT gpt-3.5-turbo/42 on 2024-04-20 at 17:33
