i think he might just be right... the world has already lost its privacy to google

Sadly, it will never work - for much the same reason that most all of Europe is in a recession there seems to be no end to. Europeans dont like to work or put in the long hours that it takes to make startups happen. Even worse, the governments have laws that prevent people from working late in most European countries! Added to which, most people want contracts and if you dont give them a contract you can get fined or go to jail... and most contracts put the companys owners on the line for back pay and 'built in pensions' and so on, so if your startup doesnt work then you cant file bankruptcy etc you end up having to pay every one off. Its the worst possible place to try and make a startup happen... the old school economics of Europe as a whole only support large companys.