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Is it really so bad? 18k is a lot of money, but it isn't that large a run for a good university graduate, and it is very little compared to what US graduates can expect to pay; yet they start plenty of companies.

Might the reason not be that the difference lies with the people and not the environment?

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Student fees should not put someone off starting a start-up in the UK because you don't have to pay anything back until you're earning > £21k, so a founder wouldn't have to pay anything until the business could afford to pay them.

However, there are other reasons that deter people from launching start-ups in the UK, 1) it's expensive - London is very expensive, general living costs are higher than the US 2) The City is a disproportionately large draw for UK graduates, finance is a larger percent of the economy, compared to say the US.

> Might the reason not be that the difference lies with the people and not the environment?

There probably is an element of that; British people tend to be less entrepreneurial than Americans.

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