
Ask HN: What is necessary for a startup ecosystem to thrive? - mikaelmello
I was discussing with some friends what should change in our city that would incentivize the creation of a startup ecosystem, or similar, some sort of tech hub.<p>Is it government programs? A big company growing or coming here and attracting others, or just attracting top talent? Incubators?<p>I was hoping to see a discussion on that topic so any links are also appreciated.
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paulz_
PG actually wrote an essay[0] about this a few years back. It also happens to
be one of the few available on youtube[1] if you would rather watch than read.

[0]
[http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpfdtgW6_oI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpfdtgW6_oI)

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JSeymourATL
Jim Clifton discussed this theme in his book- The Coming Jobs War. Chapter 7
describes Entrepreneurship Vs. Innovation and how the U.S. is still in the
dark when it comes to cultivating enterprisers and successful business models.
The biggest predictor of new jobs—-new customers.

Relative to change in your city--

Focus first on finding new customers for your locally based companies. The
customers themselves don't need to be local, they could be anywhere.

> [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12596785-the-coming-
> jobs...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12596785-the-coming-jobs-war)

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CM30
Well, I'd say it's the following, based on what I've read and heard:

1\. Successful companies in the area, especially ones which started as venture
backed startups or pay really well. Many new startups are founded by people
who got paid a lot of money in their tech company careers, and many of them
seem to be backed by entrepreneurs who made it big in the past.

Also shows those wanting to start one that there's success to be had in such a
venture.

2\. Lots of 'easy' money going around for new companies. This is one major
reason it's much easier to do well with a startup in the US (especially
Silicon Valley) compared to Europe; the former has people willing to spend
millions on a moonshot that's unlikely to go anywhere. The latter won't back
it, and will miss out on the next Google/Facebook/Uber/Netflix/whatever
because it's 'too risky'.

Also, when I mean lots of money, I mean lots of it too. Note how much your
average US startup seems to get from VCs, then compare to how much your
average European one gets. You need a lot of cash to get the best
engineers/designers/whatever involved. $50,000 funding probably won't cut it.

3\. Access to good education nearby. Not quite nerds as Paul Graham says,
since I feel it's more those in university who are best placed to get involved
in startups. They've got a lot of time, no real commitments, a bunch of other
smart people nearby in a similar situation, and enough oddball ideas to turn
into businesses. Actually, when I think about it, universities seem like the
best place/time for a lot of young people to get involved in a lot of crazy
ideas for the same reason; note how many YouTubers and internet celebs got
started in college too.

Oh, and maybe a cultural attitude that treats being an entrepreneur as
something to be respected, and building a company as a good life goal to have.
Way too many places still have this idea of 'success' as 'get a job, work up
through the ranks, get married with two kids and a dog and live in the suburbs
somewhere'

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godot
As a counter point to #1, Zappoas CEO Tony Hsieh's attempt to build out Vegas
downtown as a tech hub didn't/hasn't quite worked out so far:
[https://qz.com/687192/how-tony-hsiehs-vision-to-create-
the-i...](https://qz.com/687192/how-tony-hsiehs-vision-to-create-the-ideal-
startup-city-faltered/)

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ai_ia
A successful startup maybe is a great way to foster a startup culture in the
surrounding environment.

Three examples:

1\. Skype excited people in Estonia towards startup culture.

2\. Warby Parker inspired a lot of fellow graduates from Wharton ( I think )
to follow similar pursuit.

3\. In many ways Flipkart created a lot of buzz towards startup culture in
India. Similarly, Zoho had a lot of hand in making Chennai, "the SaaS capital"
of India.

A successful startup compounds the number of startups around the location.
Many early employees start their companies after successful exits.

My 2 cents.

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morningseagulls
There's a recent discussion about how the Malaysian government wants to become
a venture capitalist:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21165161](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21165161)

I think the creation of a startup ecosystem requires doing many things,
including most of what you've just mentioned. In the case of Malaysia, many
people are naturally skeptical, since the government doesn't have a good track
record, c.f. the 1MDB scandal. I hope the government(s) you have to deal with
is/are better than that.

On the other hand, governments are facing what Clifton calls a "jobs war" (see
JSeymourATL's recommendation:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21180883](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21180883)),
and many governments have programs that gives grants to small businesses. It's
seen as an effort by governments to create jobs, so if you frame the creation
of a startup ecosystem that way, you're more likely to create buy-in from the
government.

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JSeymourATL
@morningseagulls - Hat-Tip for the mention, thanks!

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morningseagulls
You're welcome. I wish HN has a feature to notify users of mentions: I'm
surprised you saw my mention.

