Can You Build A Great Tech Company Outside Of Silicon Valley?
Sramana Mitra
Founder and CEO of One Million by the One Million (1Mby1M) Global Virtual Accelerator
Let’s say you want to build a great tech company. Should you start by moving to Silicon Valley? Or, can you do it from right where you are, right from your own hometown?
I suggest start validating your idea and building from right where you are. Today, it is no longer necessary for ambitious entrepreneurs to be in Silicon Valley. Great tech companies, even billion dollar Unicorns, can be built from anywhere.
Today, Silicon Valley outsiders can knock over their Silicon Valley competition with proper knowledge, precise strategy. Knowledge will always win over location.
This 1 minute 34 second video proves my point. Have a look.
If you prefer to read instead of watching a video, read these two case studies.
Note that both of those businesses have become billion dollar market cap companies since these stories were captured. Neither moved to Silicon Valley.
The Montana Mogul: RightNow CEO Greg Gianforte
Bootstrapping an Online Education Company From Utah: Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard
Entrepreneurs, especially first time entrepreneurs, can learn a lot from such case studies.
We had both Greg and Aaron as guests at our roundtables. Here are the videos of those sessions:
Another thing that could help is an experienced mentor who has seen many different scenarios, a mentor — who can anticipate what can go wrong and help avert major break downs. Nowadays, such mentors could even be based in Silicon Valley and guide you virtually. If you don’t have such a relationship, you can talk to me. You can talk to me no matter where you are based. Today, it doesn’t matter that I am based in Silicon Valley and you might be based in a small town, in the middle of nowhere, population 10,000.
What does matter is that you want to be a successful entrepreneur, and that you are willing to put in a lot of work to learn, to strategize, to execute.
Precisely. Diligently. Consistently.
Looking For Some Hands-On Advice?
For entrepreneurs who want to discuss their specific businesses with me, I’m very happy to assess your situation during my free online 1M/1M Roundtables, held almost every Thursday. You can also check out my LinkedIn Learning course here, my Lynda.com Bootstrapping course here, and follow my writings here.
Photo credit: Travis Wise/Flckr.com.
IT Project Manager
7 年Startups are gaining ground here in San Diego. Cheaper living conditions than Silicon Valley, better weather, access to strong schools, and present VC firms looking to invest are all plusses. BioTech is booming here and the growth in tech across the border in Baja Mexico also makes for interesting partnerships. Here's an interesting article, albeit a little dated: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sdut-venture-capital-moneytree-pricewaterhousecoopers-2016jan15-htmlstory.html
Founder Zippittee.com ( Travel More . Often )
7 年Absolutely you can,. Why go to the highest cost location to do it? Pressure on housing, a talent pool that ups and leaves for the next better offer, plus the "uncertainty of tenure" for skilled immigrants thanks to Mr Trump? Lower operating costs in so many locations outside the US, with access to a vast pool of talent, extends the "runway" considerably.
Dan Janes this is the premise of most of our debates! Amazing to see other thoughts around it. Keep up what you're doing for Tucson Entrepreneurs!
Founder and Managing Principal at WhiteWater Web
7 年Yes. In a city called Ottawa.