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They're not as big as the Valley on web brands, PCs, or mobile, but they're as big or bigger in other areas I think a lot of people don't realize that Silicon

They're not as big as the Valley on web brands, PCs, or mobile, but they're as big or bigger in other areas I think a lot of people don't realize that Silicon Valley doesn't just dominate in a couple tech niches. It dominates software (46% of investments), biotech (32%) cleantech, IT services (43%) and (shockingly) media and entertainment (40% according to PwC, but even I don't understand this one). There is an entire ecosystem of companies outside of tech that tech people don't even know exists (I know multiple friends starting biotech and cleantech startups that basically don't interact with the rest of the tech world). More venture capital goes to Silicon Valley every year than the rest of the nation combined and VCs are quickly diversifying into other areas simply because tech startups are becoming so cheap and they have money burning a hole in their collective pockets. And it is only getting worse - SV investing is growing faster than the market as a whole - up nearly a $1 billion this year alone. If the money keeps pouring in, we may come to see SV (or rather, the Bay Area) quickly extend its domination into other areas like say, automotive (well, if Tesla ever gets off the ground).

api 13y ago
I know lots of people ask this question but: what, in your opinion, drives this and why don't we see more of it in other places?
- Aloisius 13y ago
  There isn't one reason. I think a lot of people really underestimate the power of the Silicon Valley brand. Silicon Valley has over 60 years of history as being a place where tech companies come from. It has had nearly the same amount of history of venture capital investment. Just like the United States was branded as the place where roads were paved of gold, Silicon Valley is branded as the place where dreams become reality. This is powerful. It means we draw in the young, the dreamers, the motivated, the intelligent, the networkers and (generally) the doers. We drain other areas of their talent. We drain entire countries of talent. Plus we have three world class universities with stringent entrance requirements that put out huge numbers of people that were literally surrounded by peers starting companies in fields that have easy financing (berkeley - tech/cleantech/biotech, ucsf - biotech, stanford - tech/cleantech). A few National Labs (Berkeley, Livermore and SLAC) and the NASA Ames research center didn't hurt either. On top of that, we have an area where nearly everyone is a potential beta tester. We're talking about a population of 7 million people who all know someone in tech or related to tech that are willing to try out your random product. Who will talk about it in the coffee shop. There is a large enough initial user base in the bay area alone to get you over the network effects threshold which is important to a whole host of companies (not all of course). The reason you don't see this in other places is because it took decades and decades to happen and several cultural anomalies were instrumental in it continuing. A big one was that startup founders who got lucky in the early days also didn't hoard their money. They reinvested it in the next generation of companies which really helped keep SV strong. They also tended not to move. Once you come here, you stay (your kids on the other hand are a different matter).
  - sirkneeland 13y ago
    "A big one was that startup founders who got lucky in the early days also didn't hoard their money. They reinvested it in the next generation of companies which really helped keep SV strong." Nor was their money taxed away. It was theirs to reinvest. Does this hold true in Europe?

api 13y ago

I know lots of people ask this question but: what, in your opinion, drives this and why don't we see more of it in other places?

Aloisius 13y ago
There isn't one reason. I think a lot of people really underestimate the power of the Silicon Valley brand. Silicon Valley has over 60 years of history as being a place where tech companies come from. It has had nearly the same amount of history of venture capital investment. Just like the United States was branded as the place where roads were paved of gold, Silicon Valley is branded as the place where dreams become reality. This is powerful. It means we draw in the young, the dreamers, the motivated, the intelligent, the networkers and (generally) the doers. We drain other areas of their talent. We drain entire countries of talent. Plus we have three world class universities with stringent entrance requirements that put out huge numbers of people that were literally surrounded by peers starting companies in fields that have easy financing (berkeley - tech/cleantech/biotech, ucsf - biotech, stanford - tech/cleantech). A few National Labs (Berkeley, Livermore and SLAC) and the NASA Ames research center didn't hurt either. On top of that, we have an area where nearly everyone is a potential beta tester. We're talking about a population of 7 million people who all know someone in tech or related to tech that are willing to try out your random product. Who will talk about it in the coffee shop. There is a large enough initial user base in the bay area alone to get you over the network effects threshold which is important to a whole host of companies (not all of course). The reason you don't see this in other places is because it took decades and decades to happen and several cultural anomalies were instrumental in it continuing. A big one was that startup founders who got lucky in the early days also didn't hoard their money. They reinvested it in the next generation of companies which really helped keep SV strong. They also tended not to move. Once you come here, you stay (your kids on the other hand are a different matter).
- sirkneeland 13y ago
  "A big one was that startup founders who got lucky in the early days also didn't hoard their money. They reinvested it in the next generation of companies which really helped keep SV strong." Nor was their money taxed away. It was theirs to reinvest. Does this hold true in Europe?