> Focused on the local market. I often run into SV companies that I'd like to use as a customer but can't because they only serve America. Either because of IP restrictions, money transfer, shipping, or they just haven't figured out other countries yet.

Most (all?) of the companies to succeed in SV have been successful internationally. How many countries does didi serve vs. Uber, wechat vs. whatsapp, Google vs. Baidu. Startups graduate in China without any global reach, at all. A market of 1.3 billion vs. 6.5 billion.

> Having people in it for the money is a sign that something's really happening. It's not just hobbyists doing it for fun. I'm sure most SV startups are in it for the money too. Nobody really things a pick-up laundry service for rich people is altruistic or fun.

I guess it's a cultural difference. I can't imagine doing work just for the money. Many in SV love the chase, even the subject, it is their passion at the paycheck is just a bonus. In China, few people have at luxury, just like soccer or basketball players play for country glory, not for fun, so it shouldn't be a surprise that China has yet to grow winning teams.

> Young smart engineers getting management responsibilities. Sounds like every startup with a 25 year old CEO.

Even that 25 yro CEO can benefit from having a seasoned engineer. In the west, you can go pretty far as an individual contributor...being more valuable to the company than your people manager for example; in China it seems like everyone wants to get into management as soon as possible, that being an IC last 40 is a failure.

> Lack of good leadership? Maybe they're effectively doing flatter organization structures. That's a cool trend in SV.

Confucian culture loves hierarchy, flat isn't a thing here.

> High cost of living. SV is famous for its wildly inflated house prices but that's not stopping it.

It didn't start out like that in the 70s. Also, how many Americans or even non-Chinese are looking to buy property in Beijing vs. Chinese looking to buy property in sillicon valley. One is completely insular, the other is crazily international.

> Bad internet: Crippling if you're a foreigner and depend on foreign services. Hardly noticeable for locals using Chinese services. American's equally have no access to major Chinese internet services because of the language barrier yet that isolation isn't stopping them.

All great until you need to do work, even as a Chinese. Try finding factual information about cancer using Baidu alone. Want to do a search on google scholar? Tough luck, the world is limited to China.

> Underhanded business practices. America has patent lawsuits which a big company can use to stomp out pretty much any small software company they want. Everyone's infringing somebody's patent but they mostly survive because they're too small to matter.

The courts get to sort it out in the west, in China you might just hire some thugs, or at least some hackers or officials, to teach your competitors a lesson. Rule of law has its benefits as well as drawbacks.

> Long hours and no time for family. SpaceX is famous for that and they're doing pretty well.

At least it isn't a pure face thing And they have a tangible productivity increase to show for it. In China, it's all about the face.