If you're mobile or have the potential to be, my suggestion would be to consider heading for Seattle or Minneapolis. Both have great startup cultures without a

If you're mobile or have the potential to be, my suggestion would be to consider heading for Seattle or Minneapolis. Both have great startup cultures without as much of the pretense or ridiculously insular "culture" of California. There are also plenty of other places that could present similar opportunities if you actually feel you've shot yourself in the foot in your area. Several people have pointed out that you may be overreacting, and I agree. If that turns out not to be the case, definitely keep in mind that the west coast is absolutely not the be-all, end-all of startup culture, and startup culture absolutely is not the be-all, end-all of your potential clientele. You clearly do your work well. Instead of freaking out over a knee-jerk reaction from one of your middlemen, look for more stable resources. Collect references from your happy clients and publish them. Unless you're seriously misrepresenting yourself, there's no reason you can't succeed in spite of this mishap.