

Ask YC: why is San Francisco "the leader?" - ca98am79

Everyone says it and I just watched an interview with Paul Graham and he says that Silicon Valley is clearly the leader.  Why?
With the technology of communications these days (which will only improve), where you are physically located is becoming less and less important.
Could you list some reasons why it is still (and will remain) important to be physically located in Silicon Valley? Thanks.
======
SwellJoe
It's been discussed ad nauseum, but here's a summary:

1\. Investors like to talk in person. They don't feel like the have the soul
of a company until they've shook hands with the founders and had a few
conversations. There is an old truism that being within 30 minute drive of an
investor is the best indicator of whether they will fund your company.

2\. Nerds and entrepreneurs like to talk. A lot. While HN is a lovely way to
talk, it's also pretty low bandwidth and it has high latency. Talking to
others is how you figure out your business, and in the rest of the world,
talking about a startup "wastes your time and annoys the pig".

3\. It's reasonably nice to live here, so a lot of smart people live here by
choice. You have to hire smart people eventually. And not just nerds. You need
lawyers who know about startups and will work on retainer. You need
accountants who understand that you're an idiot about taxes and finance and
need guidance. Basically, the friction of doing business is lower in the
valley (SF isn't really the center of this magical place, though it's gaining
lately...the center of the action is Palo Alto and surrounding regions).

4\. Stanford. Stanford is designed to churn out technology startups. It has a
great MBA program and a great comp sci program, and it is extremely involved
in startup culture. I doubt any other university is as tuned to producing
students who start startups as Stanford is.

There's probably other stuff, but I think those are the biggies...and the ones
that can't be easily replicated by mere talent or ambition or stubbornness.
Luck might do it. But realize that even lucky companies (like Boston-based and
YC-backed Tsumobi) end up coming to the valley to get funded. Despite being in
Boston, the second largest "startup hub", for a year since WFP07, they didn't
get further funding until they came out to the valley to stay for a
month...and Ron Conway spotted the raw intelligence they bring to the table.

The benefits of the valley are obvious after you spend some time here. Will it
change? Maybe. But not fast enough for it to make a difference to your current
company. It'll be decades, possibly more, before tech startups outside of the
valley have the same odds as those in the valley.

------
dennykmiu
I think you answer your own question. Because of technology, it is irrelevant
where we are physically located. So people live where they enjoy living and
San Francisco (i.e., Bay Area) is a great place to live. Here you will find
successful as well as not yet successful (and still hungry) entrepreneurs and
technologists. So it is a great place to do startups as well. And you see the
trend even within the Bay Area, the center of mass is definitely moving North.

------
rms
Investors in Silicon Valley don't require or necessarily want business
plans... try that on the East Coast.

------
alaskamiller
<http://searchyc.com/why+silicon+valley>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42933>

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=174298>

~~~
xirium
[http://www.ycombinator.search.xirium.com/cgi-
bin/search.cgi?...](http://www.ycombinator.search.xirium.com/cgi-
bin/search.cgi?p=0&q=why+%22silicon+valley%22)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=182746> \- Why You Must Be in Silicon
Valley

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=174298> \- Ask YC: Where to startup? (If
not the US, then Canada or UK?)

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=116600> \- Why Seattle might be a better
place to start a company than Silicon Valley

