3 ms·

Since the capital requirement is no longer a large barrier to entry for web startups, I am wondering this mean: - a startup should stay in stealth mode longer

by tspare 16y ago

Since the capital requirement is no longer a large barrier to entry for web startups, I am wondering this mean: - a startup should stay in stealth mode longer in order to give it a bigger legs up on its possible competitors - silicon valley connection to VC money becomes less critical and the team makeup for execution becomes more important. This may mitigate some of the advantages of starting in the valley. What do you think about the assertion above?

Swizec 16y ago
Working on a web startup in Europe the big majority of advice I get is saying "Go to the Valley". The thing is, in Europe, nobody takes web startups seriously yet. The web is still seen as something that neighbour kid does perfectly well. Why start a company based on that when some kid can do it for a fraction of the price and just as well? In the Valley, I hear, the attitude is a lot different and if nothing else that means it's a lot easier to get traction.
- tspare 16y ago
  Yes I can see the value of an open attitude towards web startup would help you hire or partner. And if you are trying to solve a technology problem, you also have an easier time to reach your target customer (other techies). But if your web startup is not tech focused (i.e e-commerce, b2c), does the valley really help you any more in getting traction by growing your user base?
  - greg_holsclaw 16y ago
    User based growth, I would say no, the valley doesn't help grow that base is not tech focused. But word of mouth exposure, and the possibility of doing face to faces with potential experienced engineers/managers that you want to join, If you already have all the pieces for partners, and your user base is dispersed, and you don't need capital for growth, then headquarter somewhere cheaper than the Valley (housing and office space can be half to a third the prices you pay here). Just look at zappos.com. They moved away from the Valley, partly to be in a customer service hub in Las Vegas, and partly because is was just play cheaper.
    - Swizec 16y ago
      Thing is, the valley has a really lovely concentration of early adopters. While there are lots of early adopters around here too, it's still different. Like for example, we're making an iPad app. Just because we're from Europe we were a few months behind people from The Valley simply by virtue of the iPad becoming available much later. No matter how much we try to hide from this fact, the web happens in the valley and "far from the eyes, far from the heart" rings all too true.
- bcurdy 16y ago
  I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence... Sure, people in Silicon Valley usually have a great attitude towards the web and entrepreneurs but it's also cut-throat competition out there. Don't believe that being based in the valley alone will make your life much easier. If you already have a complete team, a minimum viable product and some traction, then you'll be able to meet there people who know how to build up your audience and maybe get funding. There's definitely more experienced people there per square meter than anywhere else. But it's also a very expensive place in terms of housing/office space and talents. Europe might not be as web-friendly but there has never been a better time for startups there. Think Seedcamp in the UK, startup bootcamp in Danemark, Hackfwd in Germany and many, many more.. There are loads of people in Europe taking startups very seriously. At the end of the day, users don't care if you're based in Singapore, London or San Francisco. Also, you should be able to get an iPad not too long after anybody else in the US :)
  - evilhackerdude 16y ago
    Especially with CDNs and distributed infrastructure providers even latencies are becoming less of a problem. Technological conditions can only improve in the long term.
  - pfmendez 16y ago
    While I develop my first prototype in Mallorca I´m observing what's happening in the continent and speculate about the emergence of a fuzzy system of VCs, talented geeks, developers and researchers, with the same virtues of Silicon Valley. I dare say that the event here in Europe will be a Silicon Landscape instead of a Valley. We have the funding and the technical systems. The economic one will develop slowly. I see the main constraints within the policy-political system, which is based on command-and-control and top-down hierarchies, making it very difficult to emerge from the bottom.
- jkaljundi 16y ago
  Still we have great successes like Skype & Playtech, or on earlier stage Spotify in Europe, just to bring a few examples. There are thousands of other exciting startups. Seedcamp had 10+ events this year with 20 selected startups presenting at each and hundreds applying to some of these. That's up to 1-2 thousand ambitious startups out there. Each of the countries, even the smallest ones like Slovenia and Estonia, have tens or hundreds of exciting teams. Valley has huge pluses for growth. At the same time, it has cut throat competition for getting noticed or even getting meetings with investors. Getting traction depends on product. In Valley you understand, how competitive it really is to get traction.

by tspare 16y ago

Swizec 16y ago

Working on a web startup in Europe the big majority of advice I get is saying "Go to the Valley". The thing is, in Europe, nobody takes web startups seriously yet. The web is still seen as something that neighbour kid does perfectly well. Why start a company based on that when some kid can do it for a fraction of the price and just as well? In the Valley, I hear, the attitude is a lot different and if nothing else that means it's a lot easier to get traction.

tspare 16y ago
Yes I can see the value of an open attitude towards web startup would help you hire or partner. And if you are trying to solve a technology problem, you also have an easier time to reach your target customer (other techies). But if your web startup is not tech focused (i.e e-commerce, b2c), does the valley really help you any more in getting traction by growing your user base?
- greg_holsclaw 16y ago
  User based growth, I would say no, the valley doesn't help grow that base is not tech focused. But word of mouth exposure, and the possibility of doing face to faces with potential experienced engineers/managers that you want to join, If you already have all the pieces for partners, and your user base is dispersed, and you don't need capital for growth, then headquarter somewhere cheaper than the Valley (housing and office space can be half to a third the prices you pay here). Just look at zappos.com. They moved away from the Valley, partly to be in a customer service hub in Las Vegas, and partly because is was just play cheaper.
  - Swizec 16y ago
    Thing is, the valley has a really lovely concentration of early adopters. While there are lots of early adopters around here too, it's still different. Like for example, we're making an iPad app. Just because we're from Europe we were a few months behind people from The Valley simply by virtue of the iPad becoming available much later. No matter how much we try to hide from this fact, the web happens in the valley and "far from the eyes, far from the heart" rings all too true.
bcurdy 16y ago
I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence... Sure, people in Silicon Valley usually have a great attitude towards the web and entrepreneurs but it's also cut-throat competition out there. Don't believe that being based in the valley alone will make your life much easier. If you already have a complete team, a minimum viable product and some traction, then you'll be able to meet there people who know how to build up your audience and maybe get funding. There's definitely more experienced people there per square meter than anywhere else. But it's also a very expensive place in terms of housing/office space and talents. Europe might not be as web-friendly but there has never been a better time for startups there. Think Seedcamp in the UK, startup bootcamp in Danemark, Hackfwd in Germany and many, many more.. There are loads of people in Europe taking startups very seriously. At the end of the day, users don't care if you're based in Singapore, London or San Francisco. Also, you should be able to get an iPad not too long after anybody else in the US :)
- evilhackerdude 16y ago
  Especially with CDNs and distributed infrastructure providers even latencies are becoming less of a problem. Technological conditions can only improve in the long term.
- pfmendez 16y ago
  While I develop my first prototype in Mallorca I´m observing what's happening in the continent and speculate about the emergence of a fuzzy system of VCs, talented geeks, developers and researchers, with the same virtues of Silicon Valley. I dare say that the event here in Europe will be a Silicon Landscape instead of a Valley. We have the funding and the technical systems. The economic one will develop slowly. I see the main constraints within the policy-political system, which is based on command-and-control and top-down hierarchies, making it very difficult to emerge from the bottom.
jkaljundi 16y ago
Still we have great successes like Skype & Playtech, or on earlier stage Spotify in Europe, just to bring a few examples. There are thousands of other exciting startups. Seedcamp had 10+ events this year with 20 selected startups presenting at each and hundreds applying to some of these. That's up to 1-2 thousand ambitious startups out there. Each of the countries, even the smallest ones like Slovenia and Estonia, have tens or hundreds of exciting teams. Valley has huge pluses for growth. At the same time, it has cut throat competition for getting noticed or even getting meetings with investors. Getting traction depends on product. In Valley you understand, how competitive it really is to get traction.