In the last few years, working at startup has become a growing trend among younger generations, especially Millennials. Celebrated for its myriad of cool perks to offer, working at startup promises a different working experience compared to corporate and multi-national companies.
Singapore is one of the most active countries when it comes to attracting both local and foreign entrepreneurs to set up and grow their startups in the city state. With supportive and protectionist policies on SMEs development, it comes as no surprise that Singapore becomes one of the best countries to pursue startup career, according to a new study.
While it does not offer the best salary or the most vacation days, Singapore beats other cities with more dynamic startup culture such as San Francisco, Berlin, Stockholm and Tel Aviv. The city state has crowned Number 1, says Nespick, an aggregator website for renting furnished apartments worldwide.
There are five criteria used by Nespick in examining and scoring startup environment in 85 cities across the globe, which includes the startup of ecosystems, pay, cost of living, quality of life, social security and benefits.
Earlier this year, Inc.com also ranked Singapore as Number 6 in its top 10 global startup hubs, Asia One reports.
See: Singapore Ranked the 8th Best City Globally for Women Entrepreneurs
Among others, favorable factors such as safety, health care, a vibrant startup environment and lower income tax apparently has given the rise of Singapore position in the Nespick study.
According to the findings, on a scale from 1 to 5, Singapore scored full marks for security. Meanwhile, on health care, Singapore is rated an impressive 4.91, way ahead of the rest in the list of Top 10 cities that includes Helsinki (2nd), San Francisco (3rd) and Berlin (4th).
As for salary, the study focuses in the pay for entry-level and experienced workers in three main categories: project management, tech and marketing.
Startup workers in San Francisco enjoy the most salary among other top 10 cities, with annual wages ranging from about US$56,800 (S$77,280) to nearly US$126,000. Meanwhile, startup employees in Singapore are paid nearly half less, with benefit packets ranging from nearly US$33,970 to about US$65,940.
In general, the remuneration packages offered by startups in Helsinki, Berlin and Stockholm are also more attractive than that of Singapore. However, it is duly noted that the income taxes in these European cities and San Francisco are much higher than in Singapore.
Regarding to the cost of living, staying in Singapore is still relatively more expensive than other cities such as Seoul and Hamburg, but still more affordable than Zurich and San Francisco.
In addition to the above factors, gender equality in startup was also highlighted in the study. Startups in Helsinki, Stockholm, Zurich and Hamburg promise friendlier gender equality to the women applicants, compared to Singapore. However, Singapore still scores above average, outranking Tel Aviv and Seoul.
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