What Makes Silicon Valley So Special?

Buzzing with inspiring, addictive ideas and daring entrepreneurs; Silicon Valley boasts of a unique risk capital, risk employment, celebrate success, learn from failure and idolizing entrepreneurs as heroes’ culture

In 2015, about 50% of total venture capital funding in the U.S happened in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco; Venture-capital investment activity is more concentrated in Silicon Valley today than ever in the past. The main reason is that the advantages to venture capitalists of investing locally are self-reinforcing as the companies they consider financing can find the technical employees needed to make their products, and the management talent to grow these companies.

About 50 new tech companies are launched in San Francisco Bay Area every month; Silicon Valley is the headquarters of many large technology companies (many of which started as venture-backed startups) that play multiple roles in the ecosystem. They collaborate and partner with startups providing them with revenue streams, help them shape their product, and give them access to their clients. They train the next generation of executives that will go on to staff the startups. Oftentimes, they even acquire the startups providing profitable exits for founders, management teams, and investors.

A strong innovation ecosystem fostering incubators, accelerators and funding; blessed with top academic institutions, such as Stanford University and Berkeley that boast of the world’s best students, professors and researchers, and home to several national research labs, such as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and SLAC touted as the best in their fields attracting government and industry funding to conduct basic research.

The culture of mentorship and collaborative learning is deeply ingrained; Offering thought partnership and support to business plans and creating networking opportunities to generate desired outcomes – a significant benefit for startups to attain their professional and personal goals.

Willingness to pass on entrepreneurial wisdom and experience; passing on the know-how to inspire and promote the advancement of those aspiring to be entrepreneurs.

No wonder, Silicon Valley is home to hundreds of startup and global technology companies, with Google, Apple and Facebook among the most prominent. It’s also the site of technology-focused institutions and an innovation ecosystem that is the envy of the rest of the world.

Silicon Valley’s bubble is also its greatest asset. All of these elements come together to make the Valley the engine it is today. It has an edge over Asia, but Asia’s time may be coming, with some of its cities fast becoming globally significant in the worldwide startup ecosystem. Today, Asian startups are forced to swim in perilous ocean waters to survive, and it’s the ones that can swim fast that make it. With better infrastructure, technology, investment opportunities and regulation/policy support, Asian startups may soon be swimming in non-turbulent waters!

Source by Atul Raja