A VC - Latest Comments in Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

kimheras — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:15:26 -0000

Hey Fred

Would be keen to hear which Australian startups you're speaking about.

We probably cover more Aussie tech startups, at TechNation Australia, than any other blog and to be honest I'd struggle to come up with a "whole bunch" of really successful Aussie tech startups b/w $50mm to $150mm in value.

I'd like to be wrong though, so feel free to set me straight :)

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Shawn L — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:38:56 -0000

Interesting notion. Boston's long had an inferiority complex to the Valley, and has recently started hosting innovation nights (see http://massinnovationnights...) in an attempt to show that things are happening. Thing here is, everyone tends to run in the same circle, so an innovation night just shines a spotlight on the inferiority. I'm all for getting like-minded people together to network (http://techcocktail.com), but let's keep it honest.

The start-up I work for, http://www.on-state.com, started as a completely virtual company, and just recently set up Boston headquarters. While the new HQ facilitates easier collaboration and communication, there is something to be said for virtualization. So maybe the inferiority complex will dissolve as companies migrate in that direction.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

tmarman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:12:56 -0000

Well, we do live longer. http://nymag.com/news/featu...

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Carl Morris — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 08:02:17 -0000

I think the "creative cost" of living in the Valley could be an opportunity cost.

Technology always relates to some form of human endeavour. I would think any area can create a mindset with its own insights and blindspots.

As for the Valley, when you live in an area that is sometimes happy to celebrate technology as an end in itself, you will develop your ideas along certain lines.

I don't see Europe as a homogenous area, it's more complex than that!

That said, a good example of regional variation could be start-ups with a presence in London that focus on music - Last.FM of course and now Spotify and Soundcloud. It's clear that they benefit from being so close to established music companies and the live music scene.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

suthakamal — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:58:33 -0000

Probably not. RIM's own internal culture now is getting old and stodgy. There's not a lot of interesting innovation going on in Waterloo outside of RIM, and so there isn't nearly as much excitement in or around RIM as there is in the valley, for instance. There're a few ex-RIM startups in the neighborhood doing interesting things, but there aren't the same waves of RIM alums starting companies, compared with what you'd see from eBay, Google, Yahoo... hell, even Fairchild.

There're lots of smart people there, but the culture and drive seems to be missing.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Scott Yates — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 18:12:03 -0000

You are exactly right.

The good news is that the names only take when there is no other name for a place that needs a name. If "Denver" doesn't need a new name, than certainly New York City doesn't.

"The collection of suburban areas south of Oakland best known for a concentration of high-tech companies" needed a new name, so it got one.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Glenn Engstrand — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:37:20 -0000

Thanks for taking this important and supportive stand! I used to live in the Bay Area. Now, I live far away an am an entrepreneur with about a year old start up technology company. Our value add is accelerating innovation iteration in a "fail fast" way by developing and delivering technology more rapidly and cheaply. We do this by working smarter. Anyway, that's beside the point. When I was in the Bay Area, I got socially buoyed up because everyone else on the BART train or on the bus was also talking about their start up or their web app, etc. When you are in a place where entrepreneurs are few and far between, then you start to experience this "ugly duckling" syndrome.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Yule Heibel — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:10:13 -0000

I so hope you're right ("It will happen"). From your lips to the right ear,as they say... ;-)

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:16:14 -0000

Wow. What a great info filled comment Yule. I didn't know very much of this. You are right. Seattle to Vancouver (incl Victoria) will be one single startup hotbed (like denver/boulder) is. It will happen

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

cheap nhl jerseys — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 05:08:13 -0000

One thing that twitter now allows you to do is actually form relationships with folks you ordinarily would have to meet "live" to begin to get to know (Tim O'Reilly has posted on this before)

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Yule Heibel — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:07:17 -0000

Yes, Boris W. initially came to Victoria after Abebooks (a Victoria company) bought Wertz's company in Germany (I think that was the chain of events). He left for Vancouver after several years to do his own thing. Abebooks, by the way, early on bought an interest in Vermont-based (?) Tim Spalding's LibraryThing (that's a link to my profile, ...which needs updating). And then, about a year or so ago, Amazon (across the Strait in Seattle) bought Abebooks. (But Abebooks is supposed to be staying here, in Victoria.)

One of the more annoying things (from a Victoria-based person's perspective) is meeting people who don't know that Abebooks is a Victoria company, or seeing Victoria companies send out press releases that start with "Vancouver, BC..." I've seen Genologics do this, and also Triton (which developed The Sawfish, a cool machine for harvesting underwater logs). High tech has actually overtaken tourism as the number one industry in Victoria, but it's all quite small companies. And we don't have a single "head office" type company that can throw off high-level engineers or managers who want to start their own thing (somewhere in the comments, someone pointed to Microsoft's and Amazon's roles in seeding the entrepreneurial ecosystem) - that's a condition that holds for Vancouver, too.

Flock (the social browser) has a development team in Victoria (in addition to its headquarters in San Francisco), but it's small compared to ...well, big. If anything, companies start here and then get bought by big companies once they're successful. PureEdge was bought by IBM; Power Measurement by Schneider Electric, and so on.

Geographically, Victoria is actually closer to Seattle than to Vancouver, but nationally it's a different country of course (even though we are below the 49th). Those national borders complicate things, as does the fact that we're on an island. To my mind, we should be one regional power-house - some people choose Victoria over Seattle and Vancouver because of lifestyle - but the regional thing is just not quite happening yet. There's still a lot of friction (geography & national politics) in getting people together, and Victoria has quite the inferiority hang-over vis-a-vis Vancouver (there's a huge political discussion in this, too), while Canadians have an inferiority/rivalry thing vis-a-vis the US (Seattle, eg.).

Sorry to keep harping on Victoria here, but it's where I live (and I'm recently questioning why I don't live in Vancouver or Seattle (as a dual citizen, I could, friction-free).)

By the way, if you're ever up in Vancouver, there's another Boris you have to meet, if you don't know him yet: Boris Mann of Bootup Labs, which hosted Brad Feld last April. I know they'd love to host you for an event, too!

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:29:08 -0000

healy, i left you a comment in your blog. great post. there's a lot of truth to what you postulate.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 11:25:39 -0000

great post, i didn't see a place to leave a comment (could be that i just missed it)

i hate the name silicon alley so much. it reeks of "we want to be silicon valley" jealousy

in my web 2 NYC keynote last year i begged everyone to drop it

we are NYC, for god's sake, the greatest city in the US, and one of the great cities of the world.

why on earth do we need a new name?

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

jennifermeacher — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:42:54 -0000

"I'm doing this at 5am on my BLACKBERRY on the redeye because I can't sleep so my examples are what I can muster at this moment."

.....Oh yeah, Waterloo ON, produced RIM

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Jeff Bennett — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:15:07 -0000

Bravo Fred. There are many places where we can build great companies. No need for any Silicon Valley envy. Its about the idea, the entrepreneur and team.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

Aruni S. Gunasegaram — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:49:58 -0000

Totally agree! We have lots of great things going on here in Austin. We are sometimes concerned that we don't have as good access to capital as the Bay Area but we help our companies at the Austin Technology Incubator find creative ways to get capital. Where there is a will, there's a way!

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:25:06 -0000

My friend boris wertz is doing several startups in vancouver. Its a startup hotbed in my mind, maybe in the second dozen (there may be a third). But its happening

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:21:12 -0000

Backing in what way? We don't like to invest in blog networks at USV.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:20:08 -0000

That's why NYC is thriving as a startup hotbed. Its the most creative city in the US and possibly the world

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:15:08 -0000

Congratulations on your progress and success. I love hearing stories like this

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:14:09 -0000

True. Starting a comm equipment company in NYC is not a great idea

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:13:07 -0000

That is very interesting. I'll go check it out

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:10:14 -0000

Its true. In NYC, I have been very supportive of the development of new VC funds and other sources of capital for entrepreneurs. A few weeks ago, an LP called for a reference for a VC competitor in NYC. I was highly complimentary. I told that LP that NYC needed more quality VC firms. That doesn't help me competitively, but it does help NYC and that's what matters at the end the day

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:10:12 -0000

Yes, particulalry with hedge funds.

Re: Startup Hotbed Inferiority Complex

fredwilson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:10:10 -0000

Teleportation. I'm waiting for that business plan to hit my inbox