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> Overall, I think trying to ape SV is a waste of time; each country or district should try to leverage its own cultural elements that can bring success This w

by solve 11y ago

> Overall, I think trying to ape SV is a waste of time; each country or district should try to leverage its own cultural elements that can bring success This way of thinking is so terribly wrong. Early-stage investment is absolutely crucial to tech startups. It is not "copying silicon valley" to say that early stage investors are crucial, any more than saying that having snow or mountains is crucial to creating a ski resort. Same for many other factors. No more excuses. No more "not invented here syndrome" of cities saying that they shouldn't copy successful parts of silicon valley, just because they don't want to feel like imitators. This attitude that every city can be special in their own way while ignoring what really matters is hurting founders.

toyg 11y ago
> Early-stage investment is absolutely crucial Yeah but it's not written in stone that such backing should come from VC companies similar to the ones operating in SV. If capital is not distributed in the same way as in SV, there is no point trying to aggregate and invest it the way SV does.
- solve 11y ago
  VCs don't do first stage funding, almost never. What you're saying is not at all how it works in SV. The early stage investment typically comes from private angel investors who previously got rich from startups themselves, and invest their own money. 1st stage investment sources are absolutely needed. It's not optional just because it's not easy to accomplish. Trying to compensate in some other way that ignores early funding is total nonsense. There's no valid substitute. There's no way around it that doesn't hurt entrepreneurs.
  - toyg 11y ago
    Yes, and what I'm saying is that other cities will likely lack "investors who previously got rich from startups themselves" with an angel attitude, so there is no point in trying to hunt them down. The beauty of SV is that you can find capital at pretty much any level: from bootstrapping angel to big-time VC to exit deal. Other districts will likely lack some or most of that, at some or most levels, and will have to compensate some other way.
- raverbashing 11y ago
  Yes, the second most common source of investiment is government. But while VCs look at (potential) earnings, governments usually look at utility (if they're not favouring their friends, of course) A government would never invest in 80% of SV companies today. There might be financing options though. So, while left-leaning governments make sure everybody has their needs attended, they also make pretty much sure that nobody can have too much money to invest
brrt 11y ago
Beg to disagree, for two reasons. * No two places can be silicon valley, just because of the twofold effects of concentration and competition. I.e. SV is what it is not only because of culture, but also because all big IT corps have their headquarters their, and they simply can't have two headquarters. * Not all places are best of as clones of SV. In particular, if you don't have a widespread educational and technological infrastructure, but rather any other form of assets, then it may well be better just to try to be something else than SV (e.g. a mining/industrial/financial/cultural centre, or just a place people go to sleep). The real world makes money, too.
- solve 11y ago
  There already are many silicon valleys though: - NYC is the silicon valley of certain types of finance companies. - LA is the silicon valley of movie production companies. - When the space race was at full speed, there was a silicon valley of aerospace technology companies. Perhaps there were several. - You might say NYC used to be the silicon valley of theater, news paper companies, advertising and media companies. - Silicon valleys of painting and sculpture used to exist. But, do you see any examples where access to 1st stage investment funding was optional? No, that's nonsense. The availability of 1st stage funding is the absolutely non-negotiable primary factor for any of these to exist. This is the secret to all of these "silicon valleys". People go there because those cities give you the best chance at immediately raising money for the type of work that city specializes in. This factor dominates everything else. I could possibly see Silicon Valley being divided up into more specialized sub-areas, and other cities taking the lead on those areas. But it will never happen unless the city is also leading in access to 1st stage capital for that industry. This has proven to be the case 1000 times over, across many industries. So the BIG question - does having talent in a city attract 1st stage capital to a city? The answer is a clear NO, it does not. This has been proven so many times. Other factors do attract 1st stage capital to a city though.

by solve 11y ago

toyg 11y ago

> Early-stage investment is absolutely crucial Yeah but it's not written in stone that such backing should come from VC companies similar to the ones operating in SV. If capital is not distributed in the same way as in SV, there is no point trying to aggregate and invest it the way SV does.

solve 11y ago
VCs don't do first stage funding, almost never. What you're saying is not at all how it works in SV. The early stage investment typically comes from private angel investors who previously got rich from startups themselves, and invest their own money. 1st stage investment sources are absolutely needed. It's not optional just because it's not easy to accomplish. Trying to compensate in some other way that ignores early funding is total nonsense. There's no valid substitute. There's no way around it that doesn't hurt entrepreneurs.
- toyg 11y ago
  Yes, and what I'm saying is that other cities will likely lack "investors who previously got rich from startups themselves" with an angel attitude, so there is no point in trying to hunt them down. The beauty of SV is that you can find capital at pretty much any level: from bootstrapping angel to big-time VC to exit deal. Other districts will likely lack some or most of that, at some or most levels, and will have to compensate some other way.
raverbashing 11y ago
Yes, the second most common source of investiment is government. But while VCs look at (potential) earnings, governments usually look at utility (if they're not favouring their friends, of course) A government would never invest in 80% of SV companies today. There might be financing options though. So, while left-leaning governments make sure everybody has their needs attended, they also make pretty much sure that nobody can have too much money to invest

brrt 11y ago

Beg to disagree, for two reasons. * No two places can be silicon valley, just because of the twofold effects of concentration and competition. I.e. SV is what it is not only because of culture, but also because all big IT corps have their headquarters their, and they simply can't have two headquarters. * Not all places are best of as clones of SV. In particular, if you don't have a widespread educational and technological infrastructure, but rather any other form of assets, then it may well be better just to try to be something else than SV (e.g. a mining/industrial/financial/cultural centre, or just a place people go to sleep). The real world makes money, too.

solve 11y ago
There already are many silicon valleys though: - NYC is the silicon valley of certain types of finance companies. - LA is the silicon valley of movie production companies. - When the space race was at full speed, there was a silicon valley of aerospace technology companies. Perhaps there were several. - You might say NYC used to be the silicon valley of theater, news paper companies, advertising and media companies. - Silicon valleys of painting and sculpture used to exist. But, do you see any examples where access to 1st stage investment funding was optional? No, that's nonsense. The availability of 1st stage funding is the absolutely non-negotiable primary factor for any of these to exist. This is the secret to all of these "silicon valleys". People go there because those cities give you the best chance at immediately raising money for the type of work that city specializes in. This factor dominates everything else. I could possibly see Silicon Valley being divided up into more specialized sub-areas, and other cities taking the lead on those areas. But it will never happen unless the city is also leading in access to 1st stage capital for that industry. This has proven to be the case 1000 times over, across many industries. So the BIG question - does having talent in a city attract 1st stage capital to a city? The answer is a clear NO, it does not. This has been proven so many times. Other factors do attract 1st stage capital to a city though.