This is very interesting anecdote because it resonates with something that a friend of mine said when I pressured him to explain which regulations exactly are causing him problems in EU.

As it turns out, he also complained about excessive documentation he needs to get public funds for his project.

So both of you are actually complaining about accessing public funds and not actually doing private investment or starting a private company with private funds.

this is not what most of the Americans do and this is not what they mean by startups or business. Mostly.