The only reason to start a tech company in CA was the proximity to talent and capital. I always found it funny that supposedly cutting edge high tech VC’s wanted you nearby when we had all the tools to base anywhere in the world. Seemed like they were unnecessarily limiting deal potential. Same thing with engineers.
Now that remote work has accelerated into the mainstream, there is zero reason to base in CA, and many reasons to go elsewhere.
Also, the CA of today is very different from the one that cradled the computing industry.
I disagree. California even ignoring the jobs is a fantastic place to live. The culture, people, food and arts, nature/beaches/forests, diversity and weather is something I have not been able to find anywhere else in the world. That’s not even taking into account the extremely high pay, meeting of the minds and country level GDP engine.
I counter-disagree :) I hope you don't mind. Here is why: It's a fun place and the weather is amazing, however I wouldn't call it diverse (diversity of thought as well) and I wouldn't say the pay is high because of the high cost of living.
Thank you for the counter reply, I'd also disagree with diversity of races comment, but I will step back as I don't think counting people by color is fruitful labor. I'm only replying based on personal experience being all over different parts of the state over the years.
Very surprised that you feel this way after traveling throughout the state. Honestly, it blows my mind that places like Vallejo, Bakersfield, and Placerville are all part of the same state compared to places like the Bay Area and Socal. They don't feel remotely the same to me.
Counting people of color individually in any given setting, probably not. Organically living and working with a diversity of races is something I cherish and would hate to live without.
CA has a lot going for it. but people are fake and no one will really help you unless there is short term money to be made or potential huge long term upside and you have funding or they have known you for 20 years. culture and arts is constrained compared to what you find in europe. food and quality of groceries is indeed really great. the high pay only comes if you work for FAANG or were lucky and got an exit from a startup. and the cost of living and taxes are sky high leading to constant stress. finally, VCs only invest if you do something that falls in their current interests or group think AND if they know someone who knows you etc. the same as anywhere else where there are VCs, with similar adversity to risk.
>I always found it funny that supposedly cutting edge high tech VC’s wanted you nearby when we had all the tools to base anywhere in the world.
There really was something special about the time and place of San Francisco from the late 2000s up to 2020. The energy that place had was like nothing else I've ever experienced. You can absolutely make great software fully remote. But there's something to be said for being immersed in a culture of likeminded individuals and going to events all over the city every night to share thoughts with them. I'm eternally grateful for having spent the beginning of my career in that environment.
> ”being immersed in a culture of likeminded individuals and going to events all over the city every night to share thoughts with them”
This would be my nightmare. I do genuinely love tech and startups, but talking shop with strangers quickly feels hollow. At conferences I was always looking to escape by the end of first day lunch and maybe go to a local museum instead.
I actually like going to tech events and am glad they're starting back up again. I find the interactions and connections both fun and useful. That said the Bay Area "If it's Tuesday, it must be a Kubernetes Meetup, if it's Wednesday..." thing pretty tiring pretty quickly.
>That said the Bay Area "If it's Tuesday, it must be a Kubernetes Meetup, if it's Wednesday..." thing pretty tiring pretty quickly.
Depends on where you're at in life, honestly. I'd never want to do it again as a grown adult with a family, but when you're young it's a blast. Eventually it doesn't even matter what the meetup is about anymore, it's just about the free pizza, beer, and networking. And as a broke 22 year old paying bay area rent prices, I practically lived off the stuff.
Do you think that environment will come back at some point? I think it is powerful to immerse yourself in such an environment and I would like to have that experience at some point in my career.
I haven't been to CA for a couple years at this point. There's still a lot of tech industry there. I assume that, for better or worse, the Bay Area goes back to tech being at the center of many things--which as I suggest is good or bad depending if you want all tech all the time or not.
I moved to San Francisco a few years ago with the sole goal of starting a tech company. The “cushiness” of my well paid day job has made me a bit lazy in that regard, but it’s still the goal.
However, I’ve become extremely disenchanted with the city and state, so the idea that tech startup == San Francisco is the only thing keeping me here.
You likely want connections that you can only develop there, but once you actually start, VCs don't care where you, just who you are and who can vouch for you.
FWIW I'm working on a tech startup far away from SF, so it's possible. However we're arguably not a startup since we're not really engineered for hypergrowth as much as slowly and methodically building a self-funded, profitable product company. As such issues like raising funding and hiring quickly are not things we're concerned with, which might be why we're doing fine outside of SF. When we do hire it's 100% remote so our location isn't hurting us in that regard.
We feel like this is the best choice for our company as we retain 100% ownership and can focus on a straightforward business model of selling people a product that solves their problem at a fair price. Arguably the possible upside would be higher if we tried to go the VC route and get huge fast, but then the potential downside goes up as well. This way we're working ourselves into what amount to incredibly high paying jobs while also owning the asset that is the company.
The greater valley (valley+bay+SF) is still the best place in the world to start your high-tech startup. The talent, resources, and infrastructure are here. The mentors are here. And the general 'work like hell to produce MVP' ethic is also here. Until other population centers duplicate all of these, the valley will remain The Place for Tech Innovation.
CA still has large and growing industries that could be great clients. I agree there is zero reason to focus on engineering talent in CA but depending on your company it might make a lot of sense to build with a sales team in CA.
Now that remote work has accelerated into the mainstream, there is zero reason to base in CA, and many reasons to go elsewhere.
Also, the CA of today is very different from the one that cradled the computing industry.