> I think part of the reason VC money isn't working as well in the valley, is that people are more obsessed with raising money than they are with making their b

> I think part of the reason VC money isn't working as well in the valley, is that people are more obsessed with raising money than they are with making their business work. The other question one has to ask as a VC is what distinguishes a given metro from the 50 other options, and it seems unlikely that a clear winner will emerge. Instead you'd likely get a peanut butter spread of investment and investors. The difference isn't that valley companies are less focused on funding rounds than outside the valley. It's that outside SV, when it comes to raise the series B, a startup has likely already fully tapped their local VC market. Any rational actor would at least prefer to have the option of taking VC money later, even if they intend to bootstrap. > Some people need money, and other people need to just do it. That goes for every area, but in the Midwest, sometimes we get this "we need to copy the big cities" mentality Well, startups still have to compete for talent. When you look at big cities, they have a lot of things working in their favor. They favor new immigrants by providing reliable public transit and walkable downtowns so a car and driver's license isn't mandatory. They have several major employers, which makes the social and individual impact of a layoff less severe. You're right that it's not something you can depend on, but these are also conditions a lone bootstrapping entrepreneur can't just will into existence. Even if you're successful, that success means more opportunities for growth and there will come a time when your needs and the political status quo conflict. Especially in college towns typically opposed to new development, happily leeching rents off heavily indebted students. That building proposal to hold 5,000 employees? Zoning not approved as out of character. The housing annex developers need to build housing for your new hires? Didn't pass the ballot measure. The public transit your H1-Bs need? Dismissed by the City Council.