I don't think it's a coincidence that you don't live in the Valley and you're thinking of bootstrapping a small business. In the rest of the country I believe y

I don't think it's a coincidence that you don't live in the Valley and you're thinking of bootstrapping a small business. In the rest of the country I believe you are firmly in the majority, so welcome to the club! I've always wondered why this is. I'm from Chicago myself, and while we have a growing community of tech startups that is beginning to resemble the Valley, small business owners are much more the norm. My theory is a lack of infrastructure and culture. I think it's easier to find someone to quit their job and work with you on some big, "internet scale" project in SV because that's (almost) normal behavior there. Plus you have the venture capital ecosystem to back you up once it's time to scale. I know of a few great startups in New York that are struggling to secure VC, and I suspect their jobs would be much easier if they lived out West. Personally, I'd love to tackle a huge problem. I have some crazy, disruptive ideas. But I'm starting out smaller so I can pay my own way, Chicago-style.