4 ms·

The reason people do their startups here is because there are several related, overlapping professional and social scenes spanning 2+ generations. From a less

The reason people do their startups here is because there are several related, overlapping professional and social scenes spanning 2+ generations. From a less cynical perspective, the fact of the matter is that compared to anywhere I'm aware of, the Bay Area has a much stronger culture of entrepreneurs assisting each other. There's a much stronger culture of what could perhaps be framed as mentorship, with a large population of people who have been in the game for a long time and are still engaged as founders, executives, or investors. It's also probably one of the few places where there's a widespread acceptance that innovation means experimenting with risky business models without being forced to constantly focus on short-term revenue. From a more cynical perspective, in many cases for younger or newer founders, this means it's easier to climb the social ladder and be in the "tech entrepreneur" scene. It feels exciting and the money flowing around between young people (something that doesn't exist everywhere) makes everything seem more real than it is. I also think it's far easier to inflate the value of companies here for a variety of reasons.

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zinssmeister 13y ago
this all sounds great for entrepreneurs, but what about the software engineer that just wants to work on cool projects and have a nice home/kids/car and isn't really interested in networking much, having a "mentor" or raising capital to start a company?
- lbrandy 13y ago
  > work on cool projects Because of the density of "cool projects". If I move to Boise* to work at your cool company, and something happens, and it's not so cool anymore, I'm in Boise. If I'm in SF, I go next door. [1] Sorry Boise. I chose you because the grand-parent used you as an example... feel free to insert your favorite city for rhetorical purposes
  - michaelochurch 13y ago
    Yes, this is SF's main advantage. It's a continuous/liquid market instead of a discrete/illiquid one. No matter how finicky you want to be, you can find what you're looking for (on either side) at some price.
  - jonny_eh 13y ago
    This is exactly the reason I moved to the Bay Area. On top of the ability to easily move between jobs, if I ever decided to try my luck at doing my own startup, this would be the easiest place to raise money, find co-founders, early adopters, etc.
- JimboOmega 13y ago
  Of course, most companies are interested in networking and raising capital, which makes the concentration of jobs higher in those areas that support it. But honestly, if you want to live a life that involves kids, a car, and doesn't involve the community as heavily, SF isn't for you.
  - zinssmeister 13y ago
    "But honestly, if you want to live a life that involves kids, a car, and doesn't involving the community as heavily, SF isn't for you." See but that is sad.
    - JimboOmega 13y ago
      It is (now-corrected typo aside). I would not argue that its intentional, the environment really promotes a certain kind of person living in the city - the kind of person who can and wants to spend countless hours at a startup. The kind of person who doesn't have a car, who DOES go out all the time, and so on. Speaking of - I was thumbing through the blog that the original article was on, and there was an article about the market for Aeron chairs... hidden in there was the fact that, "oops, none of us have cars, how can we transport these?!" It's somewhat telling. Can you think of another place in the US(besides the other startup hub, NY) where you'd see people making over $100K not having cars? It's a very precise social strata that SF is selecting for, and it is a strata that includes ideal tech workers. Companies move here because that's where the workers are. Having 50% more real income isn't worth much if it tears you out of the great social environment, especially to a third-tier city. Good news, though: it's not like the whole Bay Area is the same. There are perfectly family-friendly communities in other areas, including parts of the South and East Bay. I could go on at some length - since I've been in both the job hunt and the online dating world heavily, I've become very acutely aware of just what is (and isn't) cool, especially as cities go - since it's a fascinating intersection of economics and sociology.
aryastark 13y ago
> a large population of people who have been in the game for a long time and still engaged as founders, executives, or investors Yeah, I dunno. Today Silicon Valley sounds more and more like the old money club of Wall Street than the kids in the garage that will soon revolutionize the world. Of course, a big part of revolutionizing the world is not knowing you're doing it. You can't throw a rock and miss a start-up in SF that isn't planning on "changing the world" right now. Most are doomed.
- tsunamifury 13y ago
  Most were always doomed. Its an odds game and you get a few game-changers by achieving a critical mass of startups in a given area, then allowing them to cross-polinate and share resources in order to breed more successful startups. Your statement is an example of a non-bay-area mindset. Failure if a badge of honor -- it means you contributed to the community.
  - michaelochurch 13y ago
    Failure if a badge of honor -- it means you contributed to the community. Founders move on to get jobs as VCs or high-ranking executives at more stable companies. Employees lose their jobs and don't get any severance. Yes, honorable.
    - tsunamifury 13y ago
      Michael, I think your pragmatic perspective here is important, but I disagree. If you aren't prepared financially to play the startup game, you shouldn't. If you do play, you should be WELL AWARE of the risks associated. It is a game, you play for sport not survival.
      - michaelochurch 13y ago
        The problem is that, while founders are aware, most startup employees have no idea and there are plenty of companies that make a policy of deliberately misleading people.

deleted 13y ago

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zinssmeister 13y ago

this all sounds great for entrepreneurs, but what about the software engineer that just wants to work on cool projects and have a nice home/kids/car and isn't really interested in networking much, having a "mentor" or raising capital to start a company?

lbrandy 13y ago
> work on cool projects Because of the density of "cool projects". If I move to Boise* to work at your cool company, and something happens, and it's not so cool anymore, I'm in Boise. If I'm in SF, I go next door. [1] Sorry Boise. I chose you because the grand-parent used you as an example... feel free to insert your favorite city for rhetorical purposes
- michaelochurch 13y ago
  Yes, this is SF's main advantage. It's a continuous/liquid market instead of a discrete/illiquid one. No matter how finicky you want to be, you can find what you're looking for (on either side) at some price.
- jonny_eh 13y ago
  This is exactly the reason I moved to the Bay Area. On top of the ability to easily move between jobs, if I ever decided to try my luck at doing my own startup, this would be the easiest place to raise money, find co-founders, early adopters, etc.
JimboOmega 13y ago
Of course, most companies are interested in networking and raising capital, which makes the concentration of jobs higher in those areas that support it. But honestly, if you want to live a life that involves kids, a car, and doesn't involve the community as heavily, SF isn't for you.
- zinssmeister 13y ago
  "But honestly, if you want to live a life that involves kids, a car, and doesn't involving the community as heavily, SF isn't for you." See but that is sad.
  - JimboOmega 13y ago
    It is (now-corrected typo aside). I would not argue that its intentional, the environment really promotes a certain kind of person living in the city - the kind of person who can and wants to spend countless hours at a startup. The kind of person who doesn't have a car, who DOES go out all the time, and so on. Speaking of - I was thumbing through the blog that the original article was on, and there was an article about the market for Aeron chairs... hidden in there was the fact that, "oops, none of us have cars, how can we transport these?!" It's somewhat telling. Can you think of another place in the US(besides the other startup hub, NY) where you'd see people making over $100K not having cars? It's a very precise social strata that SF is selecting for, and it is a strata that includes ideal tech workers. Companies move here because that's where the workers are. Having 50% more real income isn't worth much if it tears you out of the great social environment, especially to a third-tier city. Good news, though: it's not like the whole Bay Area is the same. There are perfectly family-friendly communities in other areas, including parts of the South and East Bay. I could go on at some length - since I've been in both the job hunt and the online dating world heavily, I've become very acutely aware of just what is (and isn't) cool, especially as cities go - since it's a fascinating intersection of economics and sociology.

aryastark 13y ago

> a large population of people who have been in the game for a long time and still engaged as founders, executives, or investors Yeah, I dunno. Today Silicon Valley sounds more and more like the old money club of Wall Street than the kids in the garage that will soon revolutionize the world. Of course, a big part of revolutionizing the world is not knowing you're doing it. You can't throw a rock and miss a start-up in SF that isn't planning on "changing the world" right now. Most are doomed.

tsunamifury 13y ago
Most were always doomed. Its an odds game and you get a few game-changers by achieving a critical mass of startups in a given area, then allowing them to cross-polinate and share resources in order to breed more successful startups. Your statement is an example of a non-bay-area mindset. Failure if a badge of honor -- it means you contributed to the community.
- michaelochurch 13y ago
  Failure if a badge of honor -- it means you contributed to the community. Founders move on to get jobs as VCs or high-ranking executives at more stable companies. Employees lose their jobs and don't get any severance. Yes, honorable.
  - tsunamifury 13y ago
    Michael, I think your pragmatic perspective here is important, but I disagree. If you aren't prepared financially to play the startup game, you shouldn't. If you do play, you should be WELL AWARE of the risks associated. It is a game, you play for sport not survival.
    - michaelochurch 13y ago
      The problem is that, while founders are aware, most startup employees have no idea and there are plenty of companies that make a policy of deliberately misleading people.