
Why I Gave Up My Front-Row Seat in Silicon Valley - timparks
http://founderdating.com/why-i-gave-up-silicon-valley-for-tel-aviv/
======
brianmcdonough
Silicon Valley is a beautiful area as is Tel Aviv and Singapore, but none of
these places is going to change who you are or the decisions you make.

Working long hours is not a function of where you live. It's a choice.

I checked out the website for the company OP mentioned selling. The about page
is not filled in with content, leading me to a conclusion that it's not really
a fully thought through idea, let alone a company.

There's a moment in everyone's life when they either decide to start telling
themselves the truth, i.e., I am not a hockey player (Guy Kawasaki reference
from the linked article), or they continue to live a life of lies.

Perhaps moving to a new place will convince someone they need to be honest and
make the right choices for themselves, but I suspect a dramatic move is not
necessary to begin telling oneself the truth.

~~~
entreprenewer
The company I sold was indeed fully thought out - it was ranked one of the
5,000 fastest growing private companies in America by INC Magazine in 2011 ;)

It was sold by the buyer who bought it from me (acquired by a supplier), and I
have no control over the content anymore, but as far as I can tell the site
has been completely replaced at least twice since I sold it.

As far as "living a life of lies," I take offense, and I'm not sure where you
come to this conclusion.

For me, living a life of lies meant telling myself I was meant to go to
Stanford and run a Silicon Valley Startup.

Since I'm not sure there's any basis to the rest of your critique, I don't
know how to respond to it.

~~~
curbenthusiasm
So... you're the same guy as OP?

~~~
entreprenewer
I'm actually not sure who the OP is... I'm the author of the article. Came
here to post it myself and saw that it was already here. (You can see that my
username matches the username the article links to on twitter, @entreprenewer)

------
cyphunk
Israel has potential but the state will do everything it can to keep non-jews
from coming or working there. Yes, if you are highly skilled you can get up to
5 years of working visas but after that you will get kicked out, with no
exceptions. I know this because it happened to me.

You will never have the option to get any sort of permanent residency in
Israel (unless you are jewish). The game is rigged so that to get permanent
residency you have to have lived for at least 10 years on any non-tourist
visa. So in theory you could study there for 5 years, then work there and max
out your 5 years working visa options... but they will make certain to kick
you out just before. I have had friends that could not complete their phd's
because if they were to be given another years student visa they could then
apply for permanent residency.

Also, btw, unlike many other countries your work visa in Israel will be tied
to one company. To work at any other company you will have to apply for
another visa. This does not sound like much but it makes it difficult to move
between companies.

~~~
klipt
> unlike many other countries your work visa in Israel will be tied to one
> company.

To be fair, this is true of the US too - in fact it's even tied to a
particular location. To work at a different location within the same company
requires a visa amendment (basically reapplication):
[http://www.murthy.com/2012/09/07/h1b-amendment-
requirement-f...](http://www.murthy.com/2012/09/07/h1b-amendment-requirement-
for-change-in-job-location/)

------
supersystem
I'm not sure Singapore and Israel are the best choices when it comes to escape
the bubble and focus on what's really important.

~~~
wyclif
I love Israel, have spent a lot of time there (not working), but my
understanding is that it's tough for a gentile and WASP like me to get a
resident visa.

~~~
cyphunk
It's 99% impossible for you to get a resident visa.

Actually, everyone should know this... what you can get in Israel is a highly
skilled work visa but this is limited to max 5 years, in any size of blocks
for the course of your entire life. Meaning you can work for 5 years and then
they will just kick you out. (I know from first hand experience).

------
atmosx
I feel like this post opens more questions than it tries to answer:

* Ultimately, why he didn't like SV?

* Was there a specific reason for choosing Tel Aviv, over say Berlin or Sydney? (Girlfriend? Is he an Israeli citizen?)

Some quotes are correct only if you frame them, for example: _if you’ re
passionate enough about your project, you can make it happen anywhere_ \- Care
to try in Greece, Nigeria, Syria?

Also, I didn't understand too much about his profile: In the beginning seems
like he was a very successful entrepreneur who turned into a VC, insinuating
that he made lots of money (== success). Then it gives me the impression that
he didn't had a _great run_.

Anyway, wish him all the best.

~~~
eaurouge
_Some quotes are correct only if you frame them, for example: if you’ re
passionate enough about your project, you can make it happen anywhere - Care
to try in Greece, Nigeria, Syria?_

I know there's a war in Syria at the moment. But what's going on in Greece and
Nigeria?

~~~
qwerta
Greece is ok for startups. Connection is fast, living expenses cheap an always
sunny. Strikes and protests are well policed and easy to avoid. Biggest
problem here are taxes.

~~~
atmosx
> Greece is ok for startups

Sure... what about investors?

~~~
qwerta
Bootstrap...

~~~
atmosx
...

------
ThomPete
Singapore and Israel are indeed interesting and good places to place your
startup. Lots of talent, money, great atmosphere. Israel has the highest
amount of PhDs per capita within the relevant areas. Singapore have very
beneficial tax regulation and a highly educated population.

My heart belongs to NY though :)

------
prostoalex
A counterpoint: [http://www.quora.com/What-advantages-do-startups-get-from-
be...](http://www.quora.com/What-advantages-do-startups-get-from-being-in-
Silicon-Valley)

------
FD3SA
I don't normally do this but...the SR-71 was not a fighter jet. It was a
strategic reconnaissance aircraft.

~~~
smacktoward
Lockheed actually developed a fighter version of it, the YF-12:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_YF-12](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_YF-12)

It never got beyond the prototype stage, though.

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pmcpinto
Great post. I always felt that in SV and SF startups promote an unhealthy
lifestyle, and I don't want to go there because of that. I want to be a
successful entrepreneur, but I don't want to sacrifice everything in order to
make millions or billions of dollars and magazine covers.

Life is not just money and fame.

------
cylinder
How did you like the INSEAD Singapore experience? What did you intend to gain
from it (coming from an entrepreneurial background and returning to it once
you completed) and did you succeed in doing so?

~~~
entreprenewer
INSEAD Singapore was a total blast. Really really fun. But in retrospect, I
think I enjoyed the French campus more. Maybe it was because I went towards
the end, when there wasn't as much school work and I already had built up
relationships, but I felt that my quality of life was better in France
(ironically). My friends and I lived in a tiny 250 year old town and drove
through the forrest to class every day, our class parties were in huge
Chateaus in rural France... it was just brilliant.

If you're considering going to INSEAD, I say GO FOR IT - best year of my life
thus far - but make sure you spend at least 4 months on each campus, that's
the best way to do it.

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bocalogic
Do you want to be a big fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?

~~~
entreprenewer
The whole point of the article was really to illustrate that I just wanted to
be a happy fish, whether or not I'm big or small.

------
richardjordan
Why do people still design pages unreadable on mobile? This sounded
interesting but it's unreadable.

~~~
prht
Well mentioned. I gave up reading. I am already -4 plus!

------
derwiki
Is Israel generally considered (Silicon Valley)--? I always thought it was
NYC.

~~~
entreprenewer
According to the Startup Genome reports, it's considered #2 startup scene (NYC
is #3)

~~~
izolate
But at the end of the day it's still Silicon Valley #1 by a long shot... and
then everyone else duking it out for #2. I don't see a reason to believe the
status quo is going to change overnight. Culture tends to shift slowly, and
culture is one of the best things SV has going for it.

~~~
iguana
Culture won't pay for rent. Silicon valley is no longer affordable for actual
early stage startups. Even if you can somehow figure out rent, you have to
compete with the existing tech giants in the area that can easily pay $150k+
for your engineers.

I suspect that this is not sustainable.

~~~
sabbatic13
It's not the large tech companies that poach employees from small startups,
it's other startups. Small startups pose more of a threat to the large,
established companies. Some tech giants successfully obtain people by dumping
several money trucks on certain sorts of tech talent, precisely because it is
so hard to keep them from starting or joining some small venture, which will
provide them with autonomy, large impact, and a chance to become fabulously
wealthy. The rather cartoonish notions of startup glory also appeal to many.

There's a reason that every company in tech is trying to b.s. people that they
either are _really_ a startup (when they are not), or that they are _like_ a
startup (yeah, right).

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maaku
Bravo!

