Ventrure Capital Ousourcing
Friday, May 26, 2006
Paul Graham's latest essay is up online. This time he focusses on the traits of Silicon Valley and examines the possiblity of creating another one. Surprisingly the list is short. A good University, great weather, cirtical mass of Nerds and rich VC's with loads of money to invest. The slashdot thread adds a few more to them; respecting failed attempts, law against exploitation and immigration. So in effect, mix all these ingridients and you have a place from where the next generation of "google's" will emerge. Easier said than done.
The real question here is what is Silicon Valley and why has it been able to create such great companies. Its a great city, a seat of entrepreneurship and which has the right mentality to keep backing newer startup. Ninety Nine percent of them fail and only one in thousands actually becomes a Google. But what is important here is the belief that innovation comes from smart people and they create wealth and need to be backed. Silicon Valley does that. And since its being doing that for such a long time, the ecosystem has sprung up around it.
This ecosystem itself will spawn new Silicon Valley's. The bigger VCs, the KPCB's and the NVP's, are looking outwards to Israel and India. The opportunites there are enormous; a vast market, burgeoning middle class, increasing spending power, possibilities of technology etc. There are smart people there who are looking at these opportunites and have figured out a way to reap benifits from them. For Bangalore and India in general, the ecosystem is missing, and its still decades behind Silicon Valley in that repsect. But then again, VC's are smart people. They can figure out which places are promising enough. Even if they dont, the entreprenuers with their crazy ideas and single minded motivation will figure out a way to get to them.
As said in the article itslef, a Silicon Valley is not made. It grows itself.
Update: The second part of the series is online now. Interesting comments on India and Entrepreneurship.
Tags: Paul Graham Silicon Valley Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Innovation
The real question here is what is Silicon Valley and why has it been able to create such great companies. Its a great city, a seat of entrepreneurship and which has the right mentality to keep backing newer startup. Ninety Nine percent of them fail and only one in thousands actually becomes a Google. But what is important here is the belief that innovation comes from smart people and they create wealth and need to be backed. Silicon Valley does that. And since its being doing that for such a long time, the ecosystem has sprung up around it.
This ecosystem itself will spawn new Silicon Valley's. The bigger VCs, the KPCB's and the NVP's, are looking outwards to Israel and India. The opportunites there are enormous; a vast market, burgeoning middle class, increasing spending power, possibilities of technology etc. There are smart people there who are looking at these opportunites and have figured out a way to reap benifits from them. For Bangalore and India in general, the ecosystem is missing, and its still decades behind Silicon Valley in that repsect. But then again, VC's are smart people. They can figure out which places are promising enough. Even if they dont, the entreprenuers with their crazy ideas and single minded motivation will figure out a way to get to them.
As said in the article itslef, a Silicon Valley is not made. It grows itself.
Update: The second part of the series is online now. Interesting comments on India and Entrepreneurship.
Tags: Paul Graham Silicon Valley Venture Capital Entrepreneurship Innovation
