How does your surrounding community impact the hacker zeitgeist?

pg has stated that while intelligence is hard to fake that determination is something where discernment of it is far more difficult to achieve correctly. He's also emphasized the key role this plays in predicting success. Coining terms such as "relentlessly resourceful" and emphasizing constant and responsive iteration as a great key to success. All this has accentuated in my mind the impact that a cultures ethics/morals play in fostering entrepreneurial activity/success. This ranges the gamut from honesty to thrift and security as all being elements that can impact a culture or communities start-up mojo. Take, for example, my home of utah. Lots of tech savvy entrepreneurial minded folks. Yet, in my opinion, a hyper zealous thrift minded risk averse upper/upper middle class contributes (along with other factors I could name) to the problem of things like seed funding. People want to invest but their sensibilities keep them often from engaging in seed funding much of anything. (Most ideas of "seed funding" here seem to demand an already in the marketplace profit gaining gig) So my question to you, where ever you are, is "What are aspects of your community that you believe impact the entrepreneurial spirit/fostering of innovation?"