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There's a great point here that the post doesn't really go into enough detail about: in many (most?) places, business and financial types are focused on the goa

by api 16y ago

There's a great point here that the post doesn't really go into enough detail about: in many (most?) places, business and financial types are focused on the goal of trying to find ways of making money without actually creating any value. The mentality seems to be: Creating value is hard! Let's find a way to just make money off "immaterial" assets, financial manipulation, pure marketing and reselling, etc. In the valley, people still look for ways to make money by making things that people want.

rjurney 16y ago
Thats sort of the idea we were going for by explaining the background - that there is a reason the bay area is filled with a million product obsessed early adopters. It is cultural. It has deep roots. It cannot be easily reproduced, so you'd better work with what you have instead of copying silicon valley.
libbybrittain 16y ago
With that said, we we need a balance of the two. "Immaterial" assets are, in many ways, necessary prerequisites for an economy with enough liquidity to finance entrepreneurial ventures. (Though I'll gladly leave that to 'the other guys.' Creating value is much more fun than providing for it.)
russell 16y ago
The NYC financial mindset has little to do with it. It's more useful to compare SV with Route 128. In the late 60's both seemed to be roughly equivalent: dominant technology schools, an educated population, and a strong hi-tech business base. But there was a strong cultural difference. If an engineer left HP, he would be encouraged, and often HP would be a customer. If you left DEC, you were a traitor. You were the enemy, never to repatriated. May your children burn in hell. In the end cooperation beat out secretiveness and destructive competitiveness.
- rjurney 16y ago
  For more info, see entire book on this topic by AnnaLee Saxenian: http://books.google.com/books?id=gnh2Rb1rcMIC http://books.google.com/books?id=gnh2Rb1rcMIC
pskomoroch 16y ago
Agreed "Create more value than you capture" (Tim O'Reilly) is the thing to strive for

by api 16y ago

rjurney 16y ago

Thats sort of the idea we were going for by explaining the background - that there is a reason the bay area is filled with a million product obsessed early adopters. It is cultural. It has deep roots. It cannot be easily reproduced, so you'd better work with what you have instead of copying silicon valley.

libbybrittain 16y ago

With that said, we we need a balance of the two. "Immaterial" assets are, in many ways, necessary prerequisites for an economy with enough liquidity to finance entrepreneurial ventures. (Though I'll gladly leave that to 'the other guys.' Creating value is much more fun than providing for it.)

russell 16y ago

The NYC financial mindset has little to do with it. It's more useful to compare SV with Route 128. In the late 60's both seemed to be roughly equivalent: dominant technology schools, an educated population, and a strong hi-tech business base. But there was a strong cultural difference. If an engineer left HP, he would be encouraged, and often HP would be a customer. If you left DEC, you were a traitor. You were the enemy, never to repatriated. May your children burn in hell. In the end cooperation beat out secretiveness and destructive competitiveness.

rjurney 16y ago
For more info, see entire book on this topic by AnnaLee Saxenian: http://books.google.com/books?id=gnh2Rb1rcMIC http://books.google.com/books?id=gnh2Rb1rcMIC

pskomoroch 16y ago

Agreed "Create more value than you capture" (Tim O'Reilly) is the thing to strive for