On Cruelty and Failure: The Elusive Futures of Transnational Startup Success

ABSTRACT

This article unravels the emergence of new migration pathways which I call ‘startup migration’ and their framing as desired and ‘highly‐skilled’. Basing its arguments on qualitative data from migrant startup founders and stakeholders of Singapore and Tokyo's startup ecosystems, the article connects anthropological conceptualisations of global startup cultures and the future orientations of a ‘cruel optimism’ with critical migration scholarship. I analyse how stakeholders sell the dream of (migrant) startup success and attract (aspiring) startup founders to Singapore and Tokyo, two emerging startup hubs, which founders assess in comparison to established startup ecosystems. Migrants identify with an imagined transnational ‘founder community’ and believe in meritocracy and location independence. While success is often out of reach, migrants rarely exit the startup world. The cruel nature of the entrepreneurial dream not only tends to deny migrants’ to ‘make an impact’ but also to claim belonging to both the global startup culture and their countries of residence.