TSMC Is a Giant Black Hole for Talent: How Can Software Startups Compete?

In my view, TSMC is unquestionably impressive. Yet its enormous market capitalization makes it a giant black hole drawing in Taiwan’s resources. Money is not the most important part. It is the increasingly scarce and more precious human resources. Market capitalization and returns are the end results. The real questions are how much value you create; how many customers you have in a business-to-consumer venture; whether your business-to-business customers are major global companies; how indispensable you are to them; whether you are globally competitive; how far behind you your competitors are; what would change if you did not exist; whether your customers could quickly find alternatives; and whether you are irreplaceable. Returning to the point, I think human resources will matter even more to Taiwan’s future. For a company that wants to succeed, the crucial factor is its ability to attract talent. TSMC needs first-rate people to build a world-class company. A software company seeking to build world-class standardized products may need people with even stronger capabilities. But if TSMC offers pay above 3 million to recruit talent, and a software startup’s output per employee is below 3 million, how can that startup compete with TSMC? If it cannot attract first-rate people, how can it compete internationally?