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Can we just stop calling every place with a few startups, the next Silicon Valley ? Just as the article said, Utah startups didn’t even raise combined $1bn in 2

by dmode 6y ago

Can we just stop calling every place with a few startups, the next Silicon Valley ? Just as the article said, Utah startups didn’t even raise combined $1bn in 2017, where SV companies routinely raise 30-40bn every year. It is just another bit player to write some articles about

shakezula 6y ago
I wouldn't call them the next silicon valley by any stretch, but the tech scene in Utah is undeniably booming.
bE9a3S5So8igd3 6y ago
Looking forward to Silicon Hell
xeromal 6y ago
Do you need to raise money to be a startup?
- ngngngng 6y ago
  By the definition you'll find around here, yes. The word has an increasingly flexible definition though.
- dmode 6y ago
  VC funding is a good proxy measure of startup activity, but more importantly, a strong indicator of where engineers are getting hired
adventured 6y ago
It's a fair point, nobody should be confusing the Salt Lake City area for Silicon Valley. Trajectory matters though, Utah is obviously doing well. Their annual venture capital raised has increased by roughly 300% in ten years and is likely to continue climbing. To put $1 billion into perspective, it's more VC than these countries have per year: Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Norway, Austria. And it nearly matches Sweden. Utah raises more venture capital than Italy and Russia combined. Utah has three million people. They'll never have the population to challenge densely populated California. Can they get to $2-$3 billion in annual VC in the coming decade? Yep.
- biztos 6y ago
  Interesting, I had to look this up but for population density[0]: * California: #17, 251/sq mile * Utah: #46, 36/sq mile I sort of doubt California's population density is the decisive thing here, but I agree that Utah's performance is impressive. Especially regarding VC, it would be fascinating to know how much of the money invested in Utah is from Utahns who made it big outside of Utah. In that it might (I randomly speculate) be more like some other countries than like other parts of the USA. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States_by_population_density https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories...
- dmode 6y ago
  Comparing to European countries is not apples to apples, as Europe may rely on different avenues of funding. An apples to apples comparison will be comparing to other US regions. Where, I don’t believe SLC even cracks the top 10. After SF, San Jose, NYC, Boston, Seattle, LA, San Diego. Austin, Denver, Chicago etc https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-23/the-geography-of-venture-capital-in-the-u-s https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-23/the-geogr...

by dmode 6y ago

shakezula 6y ago

I wouldn't call them the next silicon valley by any stretch, but the tech scene in Utah is undeniably booming.

bE9a3S5So8igd3 6y ago

Looking forward to Silicon Hell

xeromal 6y ago

Do you need to raise money to be a startup?

ngngngng 6y ago
By the definition you'll find around here, yes. The word has an increasingly flexible definition though.
dmode 6y ago
VC funding is a good proxy measure of startup activity, but more importantly, a strong indicator of where engineers are getting hired

adventured 6y ago

It's a fair point, nobody should be confusing the Salt Lake City area for Silicon Valley. Trajectory matters though, Utah is obviously doing well. Their annual venture capital raised has increased by roughly 300% in ten years and is likely to continue climbing. To put $1 billion into perspective, it's more VC than these countries have per year: Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, Russia, Norway, Austria. And it nearly matches Sweden. Utah raises more venture capital than Italy and Russia combined. Utah has three million people. They'll never have the population to challenge densely populated California. Can they get to $2-$3 billion in annual VC in the coming decade? Yep.

biztos 6y ago
Interesting, I had to look this up but for population density[0]: * California: #17, 251/sq mile * Utah: #46, 36/sq mile I sort of doubt California's population density is the decisive thing here, but I agree that Utah's performance is impressive. Especially regarding VC, it would be fascinating to know how much of the money invested in Utah is from Utahns who made it big outside of Utah. In that it might (I randomly speculate) be more like some other countries than like other parts of the USA. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories_of_the_United_States_by_population_density https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_and_territories...
dmode 6y ago
Comparing to European countries is not apples to apples, as Europe may rely on different avenues of funding. An apples to apples comparison will be comparing to other US regions. Where, I don’t believe SLC even cracks the top 10. After SF, San Jose, NYC, Boston, Seattle, LA, San Diego. Austin, Denver, Chicago etc https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-23/the-geography-of-venture-capital-in-the-u-s https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-23/the-geogr...