6 ms·

Really the question is not if or even why other places are rising up to compete with Silicon Valley. The question is why has SV been so uniquely successful for

Really the question is not if or even why other places are rising up to compete with Silicon Valley. The question is why has SV been so uniquely successful for so long. I know we have our favorite theories — perhaps the density theory in the article is correct — but the debate rages on. And till we know why SV dominated we won’t know why it stops dominating.

abakker 8y ago
Nice weather. At a personal level, every other place trades off the year round nice weather for something worse, and I’d bet that that factors into most individual calculations even if the company doesn’t explicitly consider it.
- eganist 8y ago
  This is important. One of the reasons I don't really have any desire to move to the Bay (unless the right role comes along which changes the math) is the abundance of geological risks, but this doesn't even remotely register for most people who move to the area. I'm willing to make a trade for worse weather (DC) if it means much more certainty with regards to whether the ground will move less violently... but I'm the rare case who assigns that much weight to this particular risk. Two of my favorite cities on the west coast (Seattle and San Diego) still lose out to DC for this very reason.
  - skybrian 8y ago
    It seems like the wildfire risk in much of California might even outweigh the earthquake risk? By one estimate [1] 15% of homes in California are in high or extreme risk areas. Earthquakes seem easier; it's mostly a matter of good building design. [1] https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216076320.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article21...
  - anothergoogler 8y ago
    I'd wager that you're as likely to die during a major earthquake while living in one of those west coast cities as you are from a terrorist attack in DC or at the hands of the massive police apparatus there. That is, quite unlikely.
- drb91 8y ago
  Well, this is subjective. Not all of us enjoy being confused as to whether it’s August or January. It is incredibly depressing to see no season change year round. This is a major reason I’ll never buy property around here.
  - anothergoogler 8y ago
    But there is season change, it's just less pronounced with no blizzards and ice storms. You have to get much closer to the equator to find a place without seasons.
    - Apocryphon 8y ago
      What about SoCal? Why isn't there a Silicon Valley South in LA or San Diego yet?
howard941 8y ago
It's probably not just one thing but a whole suite of attributes. California's decent social and policy infrastructure and non-compete unenforceability are two additional elements. Compare to the strangled startup situation in Florida where there's also a mild weather regime and natural disaster risk, but a polar opposite in its zero social service infrastructure/zero personal ncome tax and a full throated enforcement of arguably unreasonable non-competes.
- rayiner 8y ago
  What decent social and policy infrastructure? California schools are among the worst in the country. Public transit infrastructure is sub par compared to comparable east coast cities. On other social axes, California voters passed Prop 8. They were responsible for the most aggressive three strikes law in the country. Etc.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    California eliminated their cash bail system. Credit where credit due. Agree on all your other points though. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-first-state-to-end-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-...
  - howard941 8y ago
    These are not uniquely Californian attributes although blazing the trail for misadventures adopted elsewhere like Prop 8 mandates and three strikes laws deserves some credit. Its post secondary public schools are among the best in the country, along with off the top of my head its uniquely Californian consumer, worker, and environmental protections.
  - HillaryBriss 8y ago
    > California schools are among the worst in the country. true. OTOH, California makes up for it by tossing its own, homegrown student population under the bus. this state is perfectly happy to encourage and help SV companies import workers from every other school system on earth.
- 8y ago
kelp 8y ago
Part of it is likely density of companies, talent, funding, advisors, etc. The whole ecosystem for starting a technology focused compnay is right in your backyard. In my case, I live in SOMA, and was recently looking for a new job. I talked to 20+ companies, all of them within a 30 minute walk of where I live. I can easily head over to a friends company for lunch and learn about what they are working on. Or invite a former co-worker to our office for lunch to try to recruit them. All of this is maybe 15 minutes travel time in SF. I don't know how to quantify the value of this, but I don't see it being replicated anywhere else. And then combine that with a very open culture, where people are happy to share details about what they are working on, it really helps to accelerate learning. I lived in Seattle from 1999 to 2009, and did not experience the same open culture there. Maybe it's improved since, but I was amazed at how much people would share when I moved to SF.

abakker 8y ago

Nice weather. At a personal level, every other place trades off the year round nice weather for something worse, and I’d bet that that factors into most individual calculations even if the company doesn’t explicitly consider it.

eganist 8y ago
This is important. One of the reasons I don't really have any desire to move to the Bay (unless the right role comes along which changes the math) is the abundance of geological risks, but this doesn't even remotely register for most people who move to the area. I'm willing to make a trade for worse weather (DC) if it means much more certainty with regards to whether the ground will move less violently... but I'm the rare case who assigns that much weight to this particular risk. Two of my favorite cities on the west coast (Seattle and San Diego) still lose out to DC for this very reason.
- skybrian 8y ago
  It seems like the wildfire risk in much of California might even outweigh the earthquake risk? By one estimate [1] 15% of homes in California are in high or extreme risk areas. Earthquakes seem easier; it's mostly a matter of good building design. [1] https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article216076320.html https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/fires/article21...
- anothergoogler 8y ago
  I'd wager that you're as likely to die during a major earthquake while living in one of those west coast cities as you are from a terrorist attack in DC or at the hands of the massive police apparatus there. That is, quite unlikely.
drb91 8y ago
Well, this is subjective. Not all of us enjoy being confused as to whether it’s August or January. It is incredibly depressing to see no season change year round. This is a major reason I’ll never buy property around here.
- anothergoogler 8y ago
  But there is season change, it's just less pronounced with no blizzards and ice storms. You have to get much closer to the equator to find a place without seasons.
  - Apocryphon 8y ago
    What about SoCal? Why isn't there a Silicon Valley South in LA or San Diego yet?

howard941 8y ago

It's probably not just one thing but a whole suite of attributes. California's decent social and policy infrastructure and non-compete unenforceability are two additional elements. Compare to the strangled startup situation in Florida where there's also a mild weather regime and natural disaster risk, but a polar opposite in its zero social service infrastructure/zero personal ncome tax and a full throated enforcement of arguably unreasonable non-competes.

rayiner 8y ago
What decent social and policy infrastructure? California schools are among the worst in the country. Public transit infrastructure is sub par compared to comparable east coast cities. On other social axes, California voters passed Prop 8. They were responsible for the most aggressive three strikes law in the country. Etc.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  California eliminated their cash bail system. Credit where credit due. Agree on all your other points though. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-first-state-to-end-cash-bail https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642795284/california-becomes-...
- howard941 8y ago
  These are not uniquely Californian attributes although blazing the trail for misadventures adopted elsewhere like Prop 8 mandates and three strikes laws deserves some credit. Its post secondary public schools are among the best in the country, along with off the top of my head its uniquely Californian consumer, worker, and environmental protections.
- HillaryBriss 8y ago
  > California schools are among the worst in the country. true. OTOH, California makes up for it by tossing its own, homegrown student population under the bus. this state is perfectly happy to encourage and help SV companies import workers from every other school system on earth.
8y ago

kelp 8y ago

Part of it is likely density of companies, talent, funding, advisors, etc. The whole ecosystem for starting a technology focused compnay is right in your backyard. In my case, I live in SOMA, and was recently looking for a new job. I talked to 20+ companies, all of them within a 30 minute walk of where I live. I can easily head over to a friends company for lunch and learn about what they are working on. Or invite a former co-worker to our office for lunch to try to recruit them. All of this is maybe 15 minutes travel time in SF. I don't know how to quantify the value of this, but I don't see it being replicated anywhere else. And then combine that with a very open culture, where people are happy to share details about what they are working on, it really helps to accelerate learning. I lived in Seattle from 1999 to 2009, and did not experience the same open culture there. Maybe it's improved since, but I was amazed at how much people would share when I moved to SF.