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Does anyone think this will start a trend of de-centralizing Silicon Valley? I'm just wondering what the world looks like if these companies continue to have re

Does anyone think this will start a trend of de-centralizing Silicon Valley? I'm just wondering what the world looks like if these companies continue to have remote employees. Will there be a need for an HQ in such a high cost area?

nickff 6y ago
Remote work actually makes having an HQ in a high-cost area much cheaper, but it also means that ease of recruited talented administrative staff becomes a more important consideration (as opposed to talented development staff). I am not sure how one can or should balance prestige and HR considerations. Another consideration is how hostile California in general, and San Francisco in particular have become towards business(es).[1] [1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259638112688304129?lang=en https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259638112688304129?lang...
Reedx 6y ago
I think the trend was already in progress, and Covid-19 just accelerated it by N years.
- ghaff 6y ago
  That's the general thing. Covid-19 isn't going to force long-term trends that are otherwise fundamentally unattractive. It is accelerating changes that were already underway--and it's giving a bit of a shove to trends that companies/people just weren't ready to try out or commit to.
mlindner 6y ago
I hope it does, but I think the trend has already been going on for a while. I just hope that trend speeds up.
UncleOxidant 6y ago
Palantir didn't start this trend, covid-19 did. It forced remote working and then many realized that it can actually work really well. And the accountants started looking at how much money can be saved on leases.
Barrin92 6y ago
I don't think a week goes by without an article about that but I honestly don't see it. The concentration of talent and capital make Silicon Valley too attractive. I think people vastly overestimate the long-term impact of covid, underestimate the benefits of agglomeration, underestimate the negatives of remote work, and apart from a few individual companies I don't think there is a trend even. I'm not even sure this move from Palantir is anything other than some sort of strange branding exercise to get more Trump government contracts
- 0xfaded 6y ago
  I agree with you that SV isn't going anywhere. The money people and best talent is entrenched there through their networks and simple things like home ownership. The other question is where else? Texas? Maybe but not exactly welcoming to the liberal elitist attitudes. Europe? And you thought California is unfriendly to business... Canada? Australia? New Zealand? Like it or not, the West is still relies on the US for technical dominance. And until there is an alternative, we should hope it stays that way a bit longer.
  - chrisco255 6y ago
    The general argument is that Remote is the new Silicon Valley, and therefore it doesn't matter as much where you live. I would say the collective talent of software developers distributed around the world rivals, if not exceeds, Silicon Valley talent. The question remaining is, can remote-first companies out-maneuver the centralized Silicon Valley entities?
  - dcolkitt 6y ago
    I'll shill for Florida here. I think a lot of tech companies looking for an alternative to SV would do well to put it on the shortlist. It has an extremely business friendly environment, a pro-immigrant attitude, no state income tax, one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture, and (given the exodus from NJ/NY) a high concentration of skilled professionals. Similar to Silicon Valley, there's very little prejudice towards old money or pre-conceived notions of what elites "should look like". Unlike Silicon Valley, there's hardly any aversion to growth or gentrification. Job and wealth creators are celebrated. Living costs are pretty cheap, especially for idyllic locations. The housing stock is newer and more modern. One can easily afford to live in walking distance of world-class beaches on a FAANG salary. The biggest downside is the humid summers, flat landscape, and mosquitoes. On the other hand, the air pollution is markedly better than California or the Northeast. There's more hours of sunshine per year. Also, unlike San Francisco, human defecation on the street is virtually unheard of.
shiohime 6y ago
I think it's been ongoing for years - the high cost of living, prohibitive zoning practices, traffic due to overcongestion, higher taxes have all been contributing to general unhappiness for not only businesses but people in the bay. With the increase in remote working even before the pandemic, and now with it becoming the norm in the industry, I'm pretty certain SV is past its prime in terms of talent centralization. So yeah I'm thinking we'll continue to see more of an exit out of California in general.
vikramkr 6y ago
they just moved to another central hub - Denver has tons of defense contractors. Does it count as decentralization if a fintech moves from palo alto to New York City?

nickff 6y ago

Remote work actually makes having an HQ in a high-cost area much cheaper, but it also means that ease of recruited talented administrative staff becomes a more important consideration (as opposed to talented development staff). I am not sure how one can or should balance prestige and HR considerations. Another consideration is how hostile California in general, and San Francisco in particular have become towards business(es).[1] [1] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259638112688304129?lang=en https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1259638112688304129?lang...

Reedx 6y ago

I think the trend was already in progress, and Covid-19 just accelerated it by N years.

ghaff 6y ago
That's the general thing. Covid-19 isn't going to force long-term trends that are otherwise fundamentally unattractive. It is accelerating changes that were already underway--and it's giving a bit of a shove to trends that companies/people just weren't ready to try out or commit to.

mlindner 6y ago

I hope it does, but I think the trend has already been going on for a while. I just hope that trend speeds up.

UncleOxidant 6y ago

Palantir didn't start this trend, covid-19 did. It forced remote working and then many realized that it can actually work really well. And the accountants started looking at how much money can be saved on leases.

Barrin92 6y ago

I don't think a week goes by without an article about that but I honestly don't see it. The concentration of talent and capital make Silicon Valley too attractive. I think people vastly overestimate the long-term impact of covid, underestimate the benefits of agglomeration, underestimate the negatives of remote work, and apart from a few individual companies I don't think there is a trend even. I'm not even sure this move from Palantir is anything other than some sort of strange branding exercise to get more Trump government contracts

0xfaded 6y ago
I agree with you that SV isn't going anywhere. The money people and best talent is entrenched there through their networks and simple things like home ownership. The other question is where else? Texas? Maybe but not exactly welcoming to the liberal elitist attitudes. Europe? And you thought California is unfriendly to business... Canada? Australia? New Zealand? Like it or not, the West is still relies on the US for technical dominance. And until there is an alternative, we should hope it stays that way a bit longer.
- chrisco255 6y ago
  The general argument is that Remote is the new Silicon Valley, and therefore it doesn't matter as much where you live. I would say the collective talent of software developers distributed around the world rivals, if not exceeds, Silicon Valley talent. The question remaining is, can remote-first companies out-maneuver the centralized Silicon Valley entities?
- dcolkitt 6y ago
  I'll shill for Florida here. I think a lot of tech companies looking for an alternative to SV would do well to put it on the shortlist. It has an extremely business friendly environment, a pro-immigrant attitude, no state income tax, one of the top educational systems in the country, a fairly blue-state ish culture, and (given the exodus from NJ/NY) a high concentration of skilled professionals. Similar to Silicon Valley, there's very little prejudice towards old money or pre-conceived notions of what elites "should look like". Unlike Silicon Valley, there's hardly any aversion to growth or gentrification. Job and wealth creators are celebrated. Living costs are pretty cheap, especially for idyllic locations. The housing stock is newer and more modern. One can easily afford to live in walking distance of world-class beaches on a FAANG salary. The biggest downside is the humid summers, flat landscape, and mosquitoes. On the other hand, the air pollution is markedly better than California or the Northeast. There's more hours of sunshine per year. Also, unlike San Francisco, human defecation on the street is virtually unheard of.

shiohime 6y ago

I think it's been ongoing for years - the high cost of living, prohibitive zoning practices, traffic due to overcongestion, higher taxes have all been contributing to general unhappiness for not only businesses but people in the bay. With the increase in remote working even before the pandemic, and now with it becoming the norm in the industry, I'm pretty certain SV is past its prime in terms of talent centralization. So yeah I'm thinking we'll continue to see more of an exit out of California in general.

vikramkr 6y ago

they just moved to another central hub - Denver has tons of defense contractors. Does it count as decentralization if a fintech moves from palo alto to New York City?