>There is a Catch 22 in building another Silicon Valley: to hire talented people you need successful companies; to build successful companies, you need talented people.

I wonder if remote work can help with that. It may have the potential to reduce the second part. I'm in SF, but a lot of our engineers are remote. With enough remote work in SF available, living in VA or wherever won't tie you so strongly to a tiny handful of companies, lowering the critical mass of employers needed in a location needed to kick-start a virtuous cycle.