In the last few weeks here on ReadWriteStart, we’ve been chronicling various cities outside of Silicon Valley with thriving startup communities in our semi-weekly series Never Mind the Valley. We’ve told you how Boston is raking in venture funding, how Los Angeles is growing despite its northern neighbor, and even how Israel is an emerging tech hub overseas.
Despite these and other entrepreneurial cities popping up around the globe, Silicon Valley has held true as the mecca for startups. According to angel investor and Venture Hacks co-author Naval Ravikant, this is why being in the Valley is a must.
“For years I didn’t believe this. I thought that you could take advantage of the benefits of Boston, Seattle, NY, [or] Austin,” writes Ravikant on his personal blog Startup Boy. “But I give up. I found myself telling an entrepreneur why he had to be in Silicon Valley if he wanted to succeed.”
However, Ravikant doesn’t present the usual suspects when explaining Silicon Valley’s dominance, instead he points to some benefits that tend to fly under the radar. First he says that consumer Internet businesses in Silicon Valley are increasingly becoming “winner-take-all,” whereas in other cities, a successful company might be bogged down by similar competitors.
Secondly, he says that the businesses a startup would look to partner with are all located in the Valley, and that serendipitous meetings and relationships are often at the core of many partnerships. Finally, Ravikant argues that Silicon Valley’s early-adoption community makes it easier to make use of emerging technologies and networks.
“Sure, it’s possible to build a great Consumer Internet business starting out somewhere else,” writes Ravikant. “But given that these are winner-take-all businesses, do you want to start out that far behind the curve?”
Is Silicon Valley the end all, be all of startup cities? Or do other communities have a shot at fostering competitive Internet startups? Let us know what you think in comments.
