As someone who was recently in Ireland for an accelerator, and asked to stay by Enterprise Ireland, here are some of my thoughts:
1. Start-up Incubators - There are more in the US, that are on average, of higher quality. The incubator we went to was good, but still doesn't compare to YCombinator, TechStars or DreamIt in terms of mentorship and networks.
2. Talent - It's harder to find GOOD python and ruby developers in Dublin than say New York or Boston. Scores of average developers exist, but if you're hunting for extremely good coders, you will have a hard time.
3. Access to successful entrepreneurs - This is the one that annoys me most. Yes - Ireland is a small place. Networking can be done in a matter of weeks and you'll have hit the entire country's tech guys. However, the truth is there were only about 10 founders that really made money during the last tech bubble - the rest largely lost more than they made in the housing crash. That being said, older entrepreneurs may be helpful, but both the successful and now-bankrupt are often starting businesses of their own again. The article is misleading on this point.
4. State run organizations that help - This is true and they are largely referring to Enterprise Ireland. However, what they won't say is that the state money is contingent on the seed funds/angels investing first - they simply match. Raising money in Ireland takes 3x the effort, and 4x as long as it would in London, New York, Toronto, and especially compared with Boston and the valley. The major problem is that these investors are extremely risk-averse. I feel they want to get in on companies series B kind of stability, but at seed level prices. That being said, they are also more interested in better mousetraps than potentially disruptive ideas, in my opinion.
5. Community of like-minded individuals - The people are fine.
we all too often beat up on founders that stay at their jobs before committing full time to a startup. staying at your job isn't always a bad idea at first. taking the risk out of the startup lifestyle suggests this guy will do the same with investors' money when it comes to the life of his new company.
I work for a start-up, and we have a lot of autonomy. However, we can't afford 20% time on a regular basis. It's usually closer to 15% during a good week.
I couldn't help but leave an (infographic of my reaction to the outrage re: 20% time.
In terms of product-market fit, great fit in a small market still limits potential success of a company in the absolute sense. (i.e. "dominating" the now-$5M a year "pog" milkcap industry)
That's why VC's sometimes look for startups that have seemingly strange ideas to "normals", but the potential to address problems in a massive market. Achieving product-market fit can take time, but doing so in a large market can mean more in the end. (i.e. Spanx - a "minor player" in the womens underwear sector when compared to Victoria' Secret)