
Sergey Brin: Come to Silicon Valley to scale a business, but not to start one - prostoalex
http://www.businessinsider.com/sergey-brin-on-starting-a-company-in-silicon-valley-2016-6
======
jasode
I'm anticipating that some people will misunderstand Brin's advice which is
caused by 2 factors:

(1) Page and Brin started Google Inc successfully in SV so it seems
contradictory to advise others not to start a company there

(2) the meaning of the word "start" as Brin is using it

As for (1), Larry and Sergey had the luxury of building Google (the _product_
\-- not the formalized "incorporated" Google Inc) inside of Stanford and
therefore using the university's computers and bandwidth for free.
Piggybacking on Stanford's resources to create an "mvp" was like getting "AWS"
for free. A lot of startups don't have that situation. Therefore, a founder
may be better off working out the parents' garage in Kansas to keep expenses
low. The free room & board is money that would have been spent on a crappy
apartment in SV. Instead take those savings and use it to pay for the AWS
hosting costs, or a 2nd programmer.

For (2), I think Brin is talking about "start" as in start from zero with an
idea on a paper napkin, before an MVP, and before traction from others (users
and investors). Zuckerberg started Facebook in Boston and after Sean Parker
got interested, he moved Facebook to the more expensive SV. Bill Gates started
Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico and made profits before he moved the
company to the more expensive Seattle. In other words, you can have a "low
profile startup" in your local town that's under the radar which lets you keep
expenses very low. You can later have a "high profile startup" in Silicon
Valley where the very high costs are worth it to hire from the talent pool and
network with other entrepreneurs and investors. That delayed move to SV is
what Brin called _" that second step"_.

~~~
nojvek
I've always wondered how much of the money YC seeds to its founders eventually
ends up in a landlord's pocket? $3000/month on a studio apartment. That's
crazy burnout for a startup.

~~~
eldavido
You live with a few roommates. It's not hard to find housing in SF for
900-1300/month if you're willing to make some lifestyle tradeoffs.

~~~
whoiskevin
Yes because we all want to relive the glory days of being a poor student. Will
the tradeoff include a divorce and place to stay for the kids?

~~~
ASinclair
> Yes because we all want to relive the glory days of being a poor student.

I thought that's exactly what people in the startup world glorified.

~~~
TeMPOraL
Days when "ramen-profitable" meant you actually ate ramen are over. Now
everyone jumped on the fitness bandwagon, and eating various types of salads &
green stuff is hip. And also expensive - "natural"/organic food is a big
business these days.

~~~
cmdrfred
Ramen, just not Maruchan ramen. Asian bistro hand-made organic gluten free
gastro molecular gastronomy ramen.

------
stormbrew
There's a lot of talk about investors not being as easily available outside
SV, but having worked for startups outside the valley most of my career my
experience is that it's actually the rich customer bases you're missing by not
being in the valley. I think it's easier to evangelise a product where there's
a huge receptive audience, and doing it in person is much more effective.
Trying to sell people on some new tech in a 1 million person or less city is
hard, even when that city has decent official support for startups.

Businesses are more cautious and there are harder to cross barriers to word of
mouth spread for consumer oriented businesses. For example, I worked for a
social network started before Facebook that was used by nearly every teenager
in a large region, but we could not break out of that region no matter what we
tried. The kids in the schools in our region just didn't interact outside the
region much, so there were no network effects.

In the valley, though, nearly everyone you meet is excited about tech somehow.
Many people are from somewhere else in the world and are still in some way
connected to where they're from, both in terms of businesses and people. It's
just fertile ground for network effects.

~~~
pascalxus
Couldn't it also be that your Viral K-factor was below 1?

~~~
stormbrew
Certainly by the time Facebook became open to the general public it was.
Before that, until we saturated our geographic area, it was definitely viral
growth.

I'm not saying we didn't have other problems that would have led us to fail
eventually anyway (especially to facebook), but we observed this as a very
real problem.

------
christinecha
The folks who disagree seem to be aligning with the reasoning that it's easier
to raise capital and be closer to investors in SF.

But raising money != starting a company. Sure, it's important at some point,
but this is the growing problem with the industry as a whole, no? People show
up with just a pitch deck and want a million bucks.

Most responsible (and technically-capable) founders are trying to save as much
money as possible and get on the investing boat as late as possible.

------
ipunchghosts
I have wondered this for a few years now. It seems to me the best way to start
a company is to actually build your idea somewhere cheap and fly to where the
investors are. I don't see how someone moving to San Fran to start a company
is a good idea when a large amount of your angel investment is spent on rent.

I think a better idea would be to move to a college town. I think the guys at
id did this when they first started though they moved to somewhere in the
midwest, but cheap nonetheless.

My take would be to move to college town with a large student population and
good science programs. Somewhere like pittsburgh or even state college, PA

~~~
chrishacken
I can tell you're a fellow Pennsylvanian. haha Philly has a huge talent pool
as well. Access to students from UPenn, Temple, Drexel, etc.

~~~
ipunchghosts
I'm actually not from PA, but have been to much of PA. I purposely left out
Philly because I think its too expensive and not a smart financial move for a
startup. In my mind, you are better off moving to DC if you are going to pay
Philly rent.

~~~
chrishacken
It's all relative. Philly can be affordable, cheap even, if you aren't picky
about location. I live near Scranton now, so maybe that has changed in the ~4
years since I've lived in Philly.

~~~
ipunchghosts
But I am picky about location which is why I wrote my post.

"move to college town with a large student population and good science
programs"

Scranton doesnt fit the bill.

------
kriro
Depends a lot on the type of company you start I suppose. If in doubt start it
where the initial customers are going to be. Even if you intend to build the
next network-effect based super customer product....maybe pick one specific
niche first and be around those people for feedback (FB/Harvard etc.).

My gut would say that location (close to key customers) is very important for
B2B for example. For some startups I can't help but think that some of their
(scaling) problems are directly related to being started in SV (food delivery
or cleaning services started in SV for example).

I also think you should double check your mindset if your reasoning revolves
around getting financing and thus moving to the place that optimizes for that.
Solve problem, ignore capital (software isn't very capital intensive) >> think
about funding first.

------
brianbreslin
Lots of top valley folks say this, but then the VCs still want someone to be
nearby. Anyone know if Brin is investing his own money more broadly
(geographically)?

~~~
TheCoelacanth
What Brin actually said was to start somewhere cheap, then move to Silicon
Valley when you need VC funds. So he isn't dismissing the need for proximity
when raising funds.

------
Fuddh
Question out of interest - is it likely he is talking about companies moving
from a location from within the US to SV?

Lots of young programmers/entrepreneurs in Europe seem to dream of going to SV
as soon as possible. At the same time there are lots of great cities for
startups around over here - London, Stockholm and Helsinki to just name a
few... SV might be the best/a great choice later on in the process but I'm
quite sure Europe has lots to offer as well (not even considering potential
visa issues here, which obviously restrict many or most Europeans from joining
startups over in the US).

------
shas3
As someone who has only visited SV, I wonder: In order to avoid the crazy
living expenses in SV and SF, why don't more people start companies within 100
miles of SV, in cheaper places like San Ramon/Castro Valley, Livermore,
Sacramento, Pleasanton, Modesto, etc.? That way you have reasonable proximity
without having to suffer the living quality issues associated with SV and SF.

~~~
jpatokal
Because then you're dealing with the talent pool in Sacramento, and people in
SF aren't going to commute 100 miles to get paid Sacramento salaries.

~~~
cmdrfred
They might if you can offer half the cost of living and 75% of the salary. The
company saves on rent as well.

~~~
st3v3r
That still involves moving to Sacramento. Most of the people in SV are there
because they want to be in SV, not Sacramento. They want to be in SV to be in
the center of what's happening, not to mention the cultural fusion of SF.

~~~
cmdrfred
I'm talking more about people who have grow up and have families. That stuff
gets boring after you get older.

~~~
runamok
"That stuff"?

Partying definitely loses it's luster (at least for me) but the opportunity
for meetups, learning about new tech, etc. hopefully doesn't. Clearly it's a
balancing act but everything in life is. How much time do you want to spend
with a spouse, kid, hobby, exercise, work, meetups, relaxation, sleep, etc.
People are here because they want to have access to all these options. I'm 41
and still excited about all that is available here. So maybe I don't want to
grow up. :-)

~~~
cmdrfred
In that case, you don't get to complain it's too expensive. I just dont think
its good for kids to grow up in a tiny apartment.

~~~
runamok
I absolutely do get to complain. I also vote against the nimby council members
who refuse to build residential in lock step with commercial in Mountain View
which led to half the board being replaced a few years ago... Things still
have not gotten much better and now they are collecting signatures to get rent
control on the ballot which in general I am opposed to but clearly something
needs to change.

Everyone has different ideas about how much space is necessary. Up until
recently homes _were_ really tiny and it varies greatly by country (ref:
[http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-
house](http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-house)) I agree that the
kids should be _outside_ playing in parks and riding bikes and all that jazz
and not in a tiny apartment. But then we have the "safety" fears when the
world is far safer than when and where I grew up.

In my life I have lived in townhouses, an efficiency, rented a room in 2
houses, rented a whole house, lived in a dorm with roommates and lived in a
big house with an acre back yard. They all have their plusses and minuses. I
have not yet owned a house myself though. I would argue it's better the kids
live in a small apartment than their parents have 2 hour round trip commutes
because they had to switch jobs after they bought a house. I put a lot of
value on the ease with which I can move closer to my job.

------
overcast
How about people just start building your idea, wherever you are. Rather than
worrying about where you are when doing it? If the thing has merit, the rest
should fall in line.

------
sshykes
Why would Sergey Brin advocate startups being founded where all the action and
high valuations are?

He knows that it's hard to move your company once you've settled in somewhere.
Much more economical for Google if you stay on the fringe outskirts and let
them acquire your baby for pennies on the dollar.

------
ingenieros
If only he would put his money (Google Ventures) where his mouth is.

~~~
delinka
GV have at least one investment in Atlanta. I don't have the drive to dig up
the geographic data for this list:
[https://www.gv.com/portfolio/](https://www.gv.com/portfolio/)

~~~
atom-morgan
Which one?

~~~
jpb0104
Here's one: [https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/pindrop-
security](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/pindrop-security)

------
baccheion
Being headquartered in San Francisco, CA is "negatively correlated" (standard
deviation when pooled with all cities: -0.5261) with having a successful exit.

Best cities/towns/etc (most correlated with experiencing an exit, rather than
failing/floundering (shut down, or founded before 2004 + no
exit/acquisition/IPO)) to create a startup:

    
    
        stddev      Exits   Total   City
    
        8.4678      143     207     Mountain View, CA USA
    
        6.4855      130     356     London, H9 GBR
    
        5.7360      15      25      Berlin, 16 DEU
    
        4.5423      23      56      Tokyo, 40 JPN
        4.5105      17      32      Richardson, TX USA
        4.3559      56      159     Paris, A8 FRA
        4.2118      44      99      Vancouver, BC CAN
        4.1381      28      62      Montreal, QC CAN
        4.0152      60      99      Waltham, MA USA
    
        3.9462      57      138     Atlanta, GA USA
        3.9414      14      21      Arlington, VA USA
        3.8747      15      20      Foster City, CA USA
        3.8528      14      41      Copenhagen, 17 DNK
        3.7484      32      42      South San Francisco, CA USA
        3.7131      14      31      Baltimore, MD USA
        3.6728      39      79      Fremont, CA USA
        3.4364      9       17      Irving, TX USA
        3.3919      8       11      Chelmsford, MA USA
        3.3833      5       7       Surry Hills, 2 AUS
        3.3637      19      59      Bangalore, 19 IND
        3.3335      11      24      Hamburg, 4 DEU
        3.2568      19      36      Morrisville, NC USA
        3.2101      10      29      Seoul, 11 KOR
        3.1476      17      32      Bethesda, MD USA
        3.1191      17      42      Cambridge, C3 GBR
    
        2.9591      7       18      Zurich, 25 CHE
        2.9566      7       7       Chapel Hill, NC USA
        2.8746      11      32      St Louis, MO USA
        2.8625      39      83      Boulder, CO USA
        2.8225      35      69      Portland, OR USA
        2.8000      45      128     Beijing, 22 CHN
        2.7117      15      23      Aliso Viejo, CA USA
        2.6170      13      19      Los Gatos, CA USA
        2.4679      12      30      Helsinki, 13 FIN
        2.4569      4       12      Istanbul, 34 TUR
        2.4385      22      49      Minneapolis, MN USA
        2.3187      21      72      Dublin, 7 IRL
        2.3046      5       6       Burlington, ON CAN
        2.2251      4       6       Kennesaw, GA USA
        2.1569      8       12      Sterling, VA USA
        2.1564      111     206     San Jose, CA USA
        2.0461      37      58      Cupertino, CA USA
        2.0432      20      36      Pasadena, CA USA
        2.0180      7       8       Itasca, IL USA
    
        1.9883      23      51      Ottawa, ON CAN
        1.9772      5       6       Oak Brook, IL USA
        1.9468      7       8       Westford, MA USA
        1.9386      3       3       Gent, 8 BEL
        1.9285      4       7       Delft, 11 NLD
        1.9251      9       16      Beverly Hills, CA USA
        1.8902      8       18      Oslo, 12 NOR
        1.8785      4       7       Costa Mesa, CA USA
        1.8746      13      37      Tampa, FL USA
        1.8346      9       21      Jacksonville, FL USA
        1.8340      13      18      San Bruno, CA USA
        1.8246      7       10      Venice, CA USA
        1.8117      16      50      Stockholm, 26 SWE
        1.8010      8       15      Wilmington, DE USA
        1.7720      7       19      Burnaby, BC CAN
        1.7050      5       7       Kitchener, ON CAN
        1.6856      6       16      Gurgaon, 10 IND
        1.6729      398     807     New York, NY USA
        1.6474      3       3       Fuzhou Shi, 3 CHN
        1.6362      15      41      Madrid, 29 ESP
        1.6145      2       5       Utrecht, 9 NLD
        1.6135      5       11      Minnetonka, MN USA
        1.5937      21      35      Milpitas, CA USA
        1.5785      14      28      Mclean, VA USA
        1.5671      6       11      Orem, UT USA
        1.5587      3       8       Prague, 52 CZE
        1.5505      3       3       Lake Forest, IL USA
        1.5461      9       12      Alameda, CA USA
        1.5459      4       14      Rio De Janeiro, 21 BRA
        1.5402      9       14      El Segundo, CA USA
        1.5240      8       17      West Hollywood, CA USA
        1.5223      4       5       Doylestown, PA USA
        1.5127      9       38      Sao Paulo, 2 BRA
        1.4928      4       6       Arlington Heights, IL USA
        1.4881      15      27      Marlborough, MA USA
        1.4800      4       10      Stuttgart, 1 DEU
        1.4516      7       11      Kfar Saba, 2 ISR
        1.4352      5       13      Dubai, 3 ARE
        1.4241      2       3       Blackrock, 7 IRL
        1.4220      3       5       Roncade, 20 ITA
        1.4157      3       8       Espoo, 13 FIN
        1.3833      7       24      Vienna, 9 AUT
        1.3667      5       6       Solana Beach, CA USA
        1.3442      7       14      Mississauga, ON CAN
        1.3139      7       10      Belmont, CA USA
        1.3073      13      29      San Antonio, TX USA
        1.2982      6       14      Buffalo, NY USA
        1.2742      4       5       Ames, IA USA
        1.2476      5       11      Abingdon, K2 GBR
        1.2381      19      50      Washington, DC USA
        1.2296      102     171     Cambridge, MA USA
        1.2282      7       13      Westminster, CO USA
        1.2127      5       12      Annapolis, MD USA
        1.2056      2       2       Odense, 21 DNK
        1.1670      2       2       West Des Moines, IA USA
        1.1492      2       2       Notting Hill, 7 AUS
        1.1480      3       7       Schaumburg, IL USA
        1.1403      13      35      Plano, TX USA
        1.1257      3       3       Sunrise, FL USA
        1.1201      13      31      Ann Arbor, MI USA
        1.0986      4       9       Halifax, NS CAN
        1.0967      2       3       San Marcos, TX USA
        1.0963      2       2       Mi Wuk Village, CA USA
        1.0841      4       7       Newtown, PA USA
        1.0752      3       4       Zug, 24 CHE
        1.0658      37      74      Tel Aviv, 5 ISR
        1.0643      10      34      Shenzhen, 30 CHN
        1.0558      5       10      Munchen, 2 DEU
        1.0379      5       5       Branford, CT USA
        1.0283      3       3       Fredericton, NS CAN
        1.0099      2       3       Pune, 16 IND
        1.0033      4       8       Charleston, SC USA
    

Worst:

    
    
       -9.2963      55      178     Los Angeles, CA USA
    
       -5.8472      13      135     Moscow, 48 RUS
    
       -4.2334      2       16      Quebec, QC CAN
       -4.1071      9       24      Berkeley, CA USA
    
       -3.9312      4       15      Lucerne Valley, CA USA
       -3.7260      63      124     Redwood City, CA USA
       -3.5625      2       10      Netanya, 2 ISR
       -3.3962      8       20      Newton, MA USA
       -3.3100      10      20      Princeton, NJ USA
       -3.2994      9       21      La Jolla, CA USA
    
       -2.8129      6       13      Petaluma, CA USA
       -2.5981      12      42      Raleigh, NC USA
       -2.3986      14      41      Brooklyn, NY USA
       -2.3916      4       10      Addison, TX USA
       -2.3777      59      155     Toronto, ON CAN
       -2.3297      2       6       Allentown, PA USA
       -2.2695      2       9       Edison, NJ USA
       -2.1975      1       5       Champaign, IL USA
       -2.1557      114     240     Austin, TX USA
       -2.0160      0       7       Livermore, CA USA
       -2.0154      127     244     Palo Alto, CA USA
    
       -1.9803      1       5       Blacksburg, VA USA
       -1.9321      4       20      Melbourne, 7 AUS
       -1.9214      13      34      Charlotte, NC USA
       -1.8469      0       4       City Of Industry, CA USA
       -1.8068      5       19      Rochester, NY USA
       -1.7758      1       4       Lod, 2 ISR
       -1.7431      0       3       Eatontown, NJ USA
       -1.7269      4       12      Wilmington, MA USA
       -1.7250      0       5       Owings Mills, MD USA
       -1.6628      5       13      New Haven, CT USA
       -1.6467      1       5       Golden, CO USA
       -1.6458      2       16      Memphis, TN USA
       -1.6433      0       5       Cedar Park, TX USA
       -1.6354      3       15      Santa Ana, CA USA
       -1.6351      9       17      Gaithersburg, MD USA
       -1.6102      35      99      Houston, TX USA
       -1.6033      0       3       Superior, WI USA
       -1.5757      0       10      Saint Petersburg, 66 RUS
       -1.5656      0       4       Tacoma, WA USA
       -1.5626      8       25      Orlando, FL USA
       -1.5451      0       9       Little Rock, AR USA
       -1.5421      1       7       Galway, 10 IRL
       -1.5226      9       41      Cleveland, OH USA
       -1.5176      1       6       Liverpool, H8 GBR
       -1.5007      5       30      Columbus, OH USA
       -1.4983      19      48      Philadelphia, PA USA
       -1.4838      0       4       Toledo, OH USA
       -1.4825      0       6       Newark, NJ USA
       -1.4783      26      83      Pittsburgh, PA USA
       -1.4602      15      35      Oakland, CA USA
       -1.4537      0       6       Sausalito, CA USA
       -1.4369      1       8       Kista, 26 SWE
       -1.4364      0       5       New Orleans, LA USA
       -1.3845      6       20      Newport Beach, CA USA
       -1.3755      1       8       Manchester, I2 GBR
       -1.3457      29      84      Dallas, TX USA
       -1.3180      0       8       Centennial, CO USA
       -1.2865      3       13      Charlottesville, VA USA
       -1.2839      0       5       Morgan Hill, CA USA
       -1.2704      1       4       Lawrenceville, GA USA
       -1.2478      1       6       Burbank, CA USA
       -1.2446      0       8       Tallinn, 1 EST
       -1.2440      87      157     San Mateo, CA USA
       -1.2188      4       13      Plymouth, MN USA
       -1.1966      0       3       Laguna Beach, CA USA
       -1.1938      26      64      Salt Lake City, UT USA
       -1.1711      0       9       Jakarta, 4 IDN
       -1.1672      43      106     Irvine, CA USA
       -1.1634      1       5       Guangdong, 5 CHN
       -1.1536      0       2       Orsay, A8 FRA
       -1.1421      0       2       Cherry Hill, NJ USA
       -1.1222      4       13      Longmont, CO USA
       -1.1221      0       3       Columbia, SC USA
       -1.1055      0       4       Laval, QC CAN
       -1.0837      0       2       Mountain, WI USA
       -1.0790      0       3       Gilbert, AZ USA
       -1.0743      4       7       Boxborough, MA USA
       -1.0369      0       2       Pittsburg, CA USA
       -1.0302      0       4       Napa, CA USA
       -1.0275      2       7       Clearwater, FL USA
       -1.0176      9       30      Indianapolis, IN USA
       -1.0122      0       9       Porto Alegre, 23 BRA

~~~
cschmidt
Source? And why is the column labeled standard deviation? Looks a bit weird
that Waltham, MA is 4x Cambridge, MA.

~~~
cschmidt
I suspect maybe you're showing (X exits)/(N funded companies). You can't just
compare binomial proportions like that, between proportions of different N.
You'll have lots of random fluctuation. If Waltham had a couple of exits out
of few tries, it will look better than Cambridge, even though the error bars
on Cambridge would be much smaller. Maybe do a lower bound of a confidence
interval? Sorry for the stats nitpicks.

~~~
baccheion
It was logistic regression, with the cities as features and exits vs.
failures/floundering (1 vs. 0) as labels.

~~~
bllguo
Wait, what? Logistic reg?

Can you explain that a bit, I don't see any classification going on

Anyway: I think cschmidt's point stands from what I can tell about your
methods

~~~
baccheion
It doesn't, as you can see from looking at the exit vs. total proportion for
each place.

~~~
cschmidt
Yeah, while you can solve it that way, you're not getting any insight from the
analysis. Logistic regression assumes all data are known exactly, while error
bars are important for this case. Take a look at my comment to the parent for
a better way.

~~~
baccheion
Using the "error bar" approach (Wilson score), the following ranking results
(need at least 7 startups to make the list):

Good:

    
    
            stddev          Exits   Total   Place
    
            3.17127075776   7       7       Chapel Hill, NC USA
            3.01843089923   143     207     Mountain View, CA USA
    
            2.94392395713   32      42      South San Francisco, CA USA
            2.33101381278   15      20      Foster City, CA USA
            2.31494411999   7       8       Itasca, IL USA
            2.31494411999   7       8       Westford, MA USA
            2.29564449793   539     966     San Francisco, CA USA
            2.2599048739    102     171     Cambridge, MA USA
            2.16920869781   37      58      Cupertino, CA USA
            2.15675433868   60      99      Waltham, MA USA
            2.14760333093   107     185     Santa Clara, CA USA
            2.03695302614   13      18      San Bruno, CA USA
            2.02879100247   8       10      Redwood Shores, CA USA
    
            1.96889748562   50      85      Menlo Park, CA USA
            1.92488214848   87      157     San Mateo, CA USA
            1.88561243541   111     206     San Jose, CA USA
            1.87088199283   12      17      Bedford, MA USA
            1.863724487     9       12      Brisbane, CA USA
            1.863724487     9       12      Alameda, CA USA
            1.81215794651   31      52      Burlington, MA USA
            1.80795794099   13      19      Los Gatos, CA USA
            1.79841328745   398     807     New York, NY USA
            1.79232968296   127     244     Palo Alto, CA USA
            1.78670614594   86      161     Boston, MA USA
            1.76603102228   130     252     Seattle, WA USA
            1.76116206965   14      21      Arlington, VA USA
            1.725668452     15      23      Aliso Viejo, CA USA
            1.69835027929   16      25      Emeryville, CA USA
            1.65992493077   115     228     San Diego, CA USA
            1.6288650578    21      35      Milpitas, CA USA
            1.62697011397   106     211     Sunnyvale, CA USA
            1.61878237122   8       11      Chelmsford, MA USA
            1.54045615814   9       13      Watertown, MA USA
            1.54045615814   9       13      Lowell, MA USA
            1.52765254628   23      40      Campbell, CA USA
            1.52184678546   63      124     Redwood City, CA USA
            1.45979095374   114     240     Austin, TX USA
            1.44275765525   12      19      Burlingame, CA USA
            1.43452996236   6       8       Calabasas, CA USA
            1.42071168128   15      25      Berlin, 16 DEU
            1.34271490531   7       10      Belmont, CA USA
            1.34271490531   7       10      Venice, CA USA
            1.34271490531   7       10      Louisville, CO USA
            1.33560665511   20      36      Pasadena, CA USA
            1.31683773572   18      32      Lexington, MA USA
            1.3079978015    35      69      Portland, OR USA
            1.29748756451   8       12      Sterling, VA USA
            1.28502636002   37      74      Tel Aviv, 5 ISR
            1.27560983396   9       14      El Segundo, CA USA
            1.26780216551   12      20      Bothell, WA USA
            1.26575403151   39      79      Fremont, CA USA
            1.25989899302   42      86      Santa Monica, CA USA
            1.16897845975   15      27      Marlborough, MA USA
            1.15041829453   30      61      Bellevue, WA USA
            1.14641742472   19      36      Morrisville, NC USA
            1.12663799508   18      34      Pleasanton, CA USA
            1.12663799508   18      34      Woburn, MA USA
            1.11830928242   39      83      Boulder, CO USA
            1.1055382851    17      32      Bethesda, MD USA
            1.1055382851    17      32      Richardson, TX USA
            1.0729130146    10      17      Malvern, PA USA
            1.06468478349   5       7       Kitchener, ON CAN
            1.06468478349   5       7       Surry Hills, 2 AUS
            1.06468478349   5       7       Bridgewater, NJ USA
            1.04813789306   27      56      Durham, NC USA
            1.0299173951    6       9       Petah Tiqva, 2 ISR
            1.02697161367   7       11      Tucson, AZ USA
            1.02697161367   7       11      Kfar Saba, 2 ISR
            1.00242961826   44      99      Vancouver, BC CAN
    

Bad:

    
    
            stddev          Exits   Total   Place
    
           -3.03488442406   13      135     Moscow, 48 RUS
           
           -2.24461906751   0       10      Saint Petersburg, 66 RUS
           -2.24054924343   2       22      Edinburgh, U8 GBR
           -2.1019848289    0       9       Porto Alegre, 23 BRA
           -2.1019848289    0       9       Little Rock, AR USA
           -2.1019848289    0       9       Jakarta, 4 IDN
           
           -1.99941240406   1       14      Lexington, KY USA
           -1.93525993713   0       8       Tallinn, 1 EST
           -1.93525993713   0       8       Centennial, CO USA
           -1.93525993713   0       8       Reno, NV USA
           -1.86110616417   5       30      Columbus, OH USA
           -1.74075145471   1       12      Glasgow, V2 GBR
           -1.73777813442   0       7       São Paulo, 27 BRA
           -1.73777813442   0       7       Taipei, 3 TWN
           -1.73777813442   0       7       Livermore, CA USA
           -1.73777813442   0       7       Brisbane, 4 AUS
           -1.73777813442   0       7       Turku, 15 FIN
           -1.73777813442   0       7       Lima, 15 PER
           -1.69885420792   2       16      Quebec, QC CAN
           -1.69885420792   2       16      Memphis, TN USA
           -1.65383249608   9       41      Cleveland, OH USA
           -1.62527946863   4       23      New Delhi, 7 IND
           -1.61418876295   6       30      Buenos Aires, 7 ARG
           -1.56634866608   55      178     Los Angeles, CA USA
           -1.53427233432   4       22      Chennai, 25 IND
           -1.48872091756   9       38      São Paulo, 2 BRA
           -1.40898404732   1       10      Colorado Springs, CO USA
           -1.40299548518   21      72      Dublin, 7 IRL
           -1.33066279643   4       20      Melbourne, 7 AUS
           -1.32829693893   130     356     London, H9 GBR
           -1.30824843556   26      83      Pittsburgh, PA USA
           -1.2681757003    13      46      Mumbai, 16 IND
           -1.24409522273   56      159     Paris, A8 FRA
           -1.21002433161   6       25      Hong Kong,  HKG
           -1.20538559097   1       9       Troy, MI USA
           -1.20094804147   12      42      Raleigh, NC USA
           -1.18989409055   24      74      Shanghai, 23 CHN
           -1.18887014907   45      128     Beijing, 22 CHN
           -1.11938393751   2       12      Fayetteville, AR USA
           -1.11331820129   19      59      Bangalore, 19 IND
           -1.10037104532   5       21      Phoenix, AZ USA
           -1.09606612444   35      99      Houston, TX USA
           -1.09541919563   29      84      Dallas, TX USA
           -1.09414918118   3       15      Santa Ana, CA USA
           -1.09414918118   3       15      Hyderabad, 2 IND
           -1.05291108276   16      50      Stockholm, 26 SWE
           -1.04636163325   59      155     Toronto, ON CAN
           -1.0386757642    13      42      Miami, FL USA
           -1.02924375409   10      34      Shenzhen, 30 CHN
           -1.00129935812   9       31      Calgary, AB CAN

~~~
baybal2
Moscow, "a success city"... =D

------
Negative1
I think there's a lot of factors at play when you're founding a company and
what Brin is hopefully saying is that given the current conditions SV is
difficult for early stage (bootstrapping or seeding), which seems to be true.

In 1998 things were very different so of course they could afford to be in the
menlo park area and reap the rewards of the VC network. Now, to stay in the
area you need to fund heavily up front which leaves you less time to build
that awesome product before funding dries up (or worse, you have to sell too
much of your company in order to survive).

The reality though is you can try to start up a company in a place like Boca
Raton and unless you have some previous connections and major capital you're
not going have the funding network and excess of high tech workers your
company needs to really take off. Magic Leap basically went this route and
seem to be doing fine but most companies aren't that high profile (and well
funded).

------
padobson
This is fine advice if you're talented enough to startup without a co-founder.
It's also fine advice if you're lucky enough to find a co-founder in your
local talent pool.

However, if you find that starting up is beyond your individual skill set, and
the people you enlist to help you come over to your garage and spend 10 mins
programming and the rest of the time on YouTube and Reddit, you may want to
move to a better startup ecosystem to find a more ambitious co-founder.

------
dynofuz
Where would you start one then?

~~~
godzillabrennus
Chicago. Highest returns of any startup city.

[http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160609/BLOGS11/1606...](http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160609/BLOGS11/160609806/best-
city-for-monster-returns-in-venture-capital-chicago)

~~~
dangerlibrary
Not really...

> Chicago had just 31 total exits during the period, equal to Raleigh. Austin,
> Texas, had 86; Washington, D.C., saw 87; New York posted 98; and the San
> Francisco Bay Area recorded 613. While Chicago had 14 deals that produced
> returns of more than 10-fold, San Francisco had 153 such deals.

~~~
hugs
If your goal is to start an enduring & profitable business, number of exits is
the wrong metric. I get annoyed when total number of exits is assumed to be
the only metric that counts. It's clearly a metric VCs care about, though.

~~~
logfromblammo
If you're a founder, not a VC, you would probably want another metric for the
rate of return on your sweat from founding to exit.

There's a TVM calculation in there, to normalize the dollars you got paid on
exit to the years that you did the work. And there's an opportunity cost for
not being a salaried employee of an existing business while your were building
your new business.

In the end, you probably want to reduce it to $X/week, run the calculation for
all founders, and then aggregate by metropolitan area to see which city is
best.

If your business becomes self-sustaining without a buyout, merger, or IPO, you
can probably run the calculation using a TVM for a presumed perpetuity after
the day you finally start paying regular dividends, along with your equity
value as a lump sum. And if it goes bankrupt, you could end up with a negative
value if you chose to pay yourself a salary lower than you could have earned
elsewhere.

------
logicallee
If you're itching to start a company out of a garage, then you shouldn't pick
up and move to Silicon Valley, says Russian immigrant Sergey Brin, who
cofounded Google at Stanford University, after immigrating to the United
States with his family at the age of 6. With help from an advisor who put him
in touch with Larry Page while they were studying at Stanford, they
implemented a new algorithm, called Page Rank, on top of a data mining system
Brin was already developing. With further help from the Stanford community's
network, they soon received a check for US$100,000 from Andy Bechtolsheim, co-
founder of Sun Microsystems, written to a company that did not yet exist.
About a year later, they announced closing a $25 million round from Sequoia
Capital, who suggested hiring an external CEO in the form of Eric Schmidt.
Within 4 years Microsoft started making bids for the company, though Google
eventually went public instead. Today Sergey Brin is one of three people
listed as 11th richest in the world, with a net worth of US$39.2 billion.

Recently speaking at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, he said onstage,
"It's easier to start a company outside the Valley than in it."

In a follow-up interview, he was asked to reflect on the $100,000 check he
received from Andy Bechtolsheim of Sun Microsystems, before Google existed.
Now that he himself was worth billions, would he write a similar check based
on a pitch from someone living in Kansas, the interviewer asked. Sergey Brin
laughed.

"That would sort of contradict what I've been saying here," he said with a
laugh. "Maybe try kickstarter? But if you ever do move to Silicon Valley
definitely reach out."

He then got very serious:"Seriously though. We live in a connected world. It
doesn't matter where you live. It matters what you build."

He then apologized saying he had to run, and drove off in a pre-production
Tesla Model 3 in fiery red, produced by South African immigrant Elon Musk, who
made his fortune at PayPal, based in San José, and now runs Tesla Motors based
in Palo Alto. An odd choice for Brin to be driving, as Google is said to be
developing its own driverless vehicle.

That is, if a few startup kids in Detroit don't beat them to the punch. You
can read about the extraordinary results of the Detroit startup company (find
link) . One thing's for sure: just as Brin eloquently stated, there's nothing
stopping them.

------
rdlecler1
That's great and all but access to capital, even angel capital, is much easier
in the Valley than anywhere else in the world. You come here and live
threadbare, but you still derisk your startup.

~~~
Androider
How on earth does taking capital derisk your startup? It's like throwing
gasoline on a bonfire, yes it burns a lot faster, but also shorter. Early
money is the most expensive money you'll ever take, and if you're reliant on
it you're dead when it dries up.

Find a viable business with a skeleton crew, grow with your profits, and then
pour on the gas if you want when a repeatable pattern is found. It's not as
glamorous, but you're more likely to create a solid business instead of
crashing and burning like most SV startups.

~~~
rdlecler1
Some people need do need to eat. It's not a cooicidence that entrepreneurship
favors people of means who can take that risk.

------
Ferver777
I agree. I'd go to NYC or even Florida somewhere

------
safetytrick
Of course he does.

------
jkot
Imagine how "Silicon Valley" series would be boring, if Pied Piper founders
started their company in cheap US state/country with their own savings.
Distributed company would be even more boring :-)

