What I've noticed after returning to Yorkshire after 23 years in Silicon Valley: David Richards

Healthcare: A Transatlantic Lifeline

In America, healthcare is a privatised maze. My former Silicon Valley company paid a staggering $2,500 monthly per employee for health insurance – more than my annual UK private plan today. The NHS, derided stateside as “socialised medicine,” is a cornerstone of British dignity. I’ll never forget the daughter of a friend who died because she couldn’t afford care while starting a business with her husband.

Here, universal healthcare isn’t just humane; it’s a business advantage. Healthier workers, lower costs, and no bankruptcies over medical bills. British firms, take note: this safety net lets you innovate without fear.

Food: Quality Without the Price Gouging

Americans jokingly label the premium grocery chain Whole Foods as “Whole Paycheck” due to its exorbitant prices for organic produce, but even their cheap staples are laced with high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). The US food system, hijacked by farm subsidies, pumps this addictive sweetener into everything – bread, soda, even “healthy” snacks. When Coke and Pepsi swapped cane sugar for HFCS in the 80s, it wasn’t innovation – it was lobbying.

In the UK, by contrast, strict regulations curb such shortcuts. Yes, organic here isn’t dirt-cheap, but good food – fresh, unprocessed, and HFCS-free – doesn’t require a huge salary.

Walk into a Yorkshire market: seasonal produce, fresh meat and fish, and proper bacon abound at fair prices.

Venture Capital: Dreamers vs. Bean-Counters

Silicon Valley’s VCs bet on visionaries. They ask, “Could this idea change the world?” not “Where’s the five-year EBITDA?” Why? Because 60 per cent of US investors are ex-founders – they’ve built businesses, not just spreadsheets. In the UK, only five per cent of VCs have founded a company, a qualification I think is critical – it’s a bit like trusting a pilot who’s read every flight manual but never flown a plane. The result? Excessive focus on financial metrics, even for startups. Yorkshire’s tech scene, from Leeds’ fintechs to Sheffield’s advanced manufacturing innovators, needs backers who embrace risk. Let’s champion founders with grit, not just MBAs. After all, California’s trillions began with bets on college dropouts in garages.

Class System: Provenance vs. Backbone

In the US, class is masked by myth. “What do you do?” they ask, celebrating self-made hustle. Humble roots? A badge of honour. In the UK, class lingers like fog. “What school did you attend?” isn’t small talk—it’s a cipher for “Are you one of us?” I’ve heard Brits sneer, “He went to a state school,” as if education’s purpose is exclusivity.

This hierarchy stifles innovation. Brilliant minds in Bradford or Barnsley get overlooked because they lack the “right” accent or connections. In Silicon Valley, my colleagues ranged from PhDs to college dropouts – all judged by their ideas, not their postcodes. UK businesses must shed this baggage. Talent is everywhere; old hierarchies belong in stately homes, not boardrooms.

The Bottom Line

The US taught me scale and audacity, but Yorkshire, and Britain, offer something rarer: fairness, community, and food that doesn’t poison you. As we rebuild post-Brexit, let’s fuse Silicon Valley’s ambition with Northern grit. Champion universal healthcare, back risk-takers, and ignore the class snobbery. After 23 years abroad, I’m convinced: the future isn’t just about profit.

It’s about principle – and Yorkshire’s got both in spades.

David Richards MBE is a co-founder and managing partner of Yorkshire AI Labs.