8. No, I didn't know 70 founders, I didn't even know one. But having a friend in the industry who didn't even work for a startup let me know the private details of 2-3 companies a day. This was standard dinner conversation- who's doing what, etc.
6. We're all in the same pond. I'm saying that your chances of beating Bay Area companies is better if you are not in the Bay Area. Most of the best people in the world do not live in the Bay Area.
5. Thailand is probably not a bad place... recruiting bright engineers right out of college is probably easier. Who wants to go live in a cubicle in a generic tilt up rather than a bungalow on a beach in a small town? Cutting these costs means you can pay people more, means you can hire better people, etc.
4. IF this is true, that's even worse. With the dramatically higher cost of living, that means your employees are having more trouble making ends meet (or sharing houses, 2 to a bedroom.)
Anyway, don't want to debate it to death, and was talking tongue in cheek to some extent. Locality is much less important than it was in the 1980s and 1990s. And past success has made the bay area somewhere I'm increasingly less interested in even visiting.
1. Living cost are cheap
2. good internet access
3. lots of people speak english there so you can go on your daily life with english (good for attracting employees from other countries)
4. While I don't discount the usefulness of the networking effect in the bay, it's much more useful if you need investors... Since I plan to bootstrap my company, this is not such a problem....
5. Nice weather, smiling people makes for a place where people are not depressed....
6. I strongly believe that the best employees for a startup are curious and adventurous, an employee that is willing to relocate to malaysia display those qualities
Thus a team of a few can focus just on adding value, making the bootstrapping runway dramatically shorter.
I'm not sure what the benefit of physical networking is (and thus being in the bay area) other than being closer to VCs, and if you don't need VC funding, there's no point.
11. As you get closer to larger companies, people on the road tend to be more rude. I'm thinking of the San Jose/Milpitas area. I think most of those workers are unhappy to be treading off to their anonymous jobs :)
10. Disagree. If you live on the 101, I could see how you would feel that way, but try to drive around los gatos or saratoga and say that. No urban sprawl. Plus, 'quality of life' is such a nebulous term....for me, quality of life is improved just by the energy of this place and the diverse types of people it attracts.
9. I don't know anyone on prozac, and I'm not sure what that has to do with population density...
Speaking of population density/sprawl, I met this nice lady very recently who had just relocated from Paris. Having been lucky enough to visit there myself, I had to tell her how beautiful I thought her city was. She said that she was happy to leave, as the bay area was a "lot greener" (her words) and better for children.
8. You point should show anyone why the bay area is a great place. Where else would you know 70 founders?? And getting an edge on your competition doesn't necessarily involve secrecy....
7. Totally agree about having to find a home, etc. But the regulations are pretty minor from a biz standpoint relative to the benefits of doing business here.
6. Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond? If your startup has potential, you should not only be able to compete with other startups to hire, you will be able to pick from among the best people in the world.
5. Second order problems. Instead of looking at expenses, you should be looking at the place that allows your startup to have the most room to grow. If your primary concern is the cost of living, move to Thailand. Gorgeous beaches, your dollar goes incredibly far, and oh, the closest thing to a technology company there is the guy selling electronic keychains on the street...
4. I've been in the valley since 2000 - it's much easier to find a place here now than it was back then. And salaries aren't that much higher here than they are in other tech centers in the USA or even Canada.
3. Disagree. Since when is having more options a negative thing? If you don't need VC money, don't spend your time chasing it. But if you do, you'll have a much better chance getting it here.
Face it - if you need VC money, the treadmill exists regardless of which city your business is situated in - you'll just have an easier time getting on the treadmill if you're in the bay area.
2. Can't disagree with that...commutes certainly suck, and they're longer here than most places.
1. Agreed...which is why holding onto a stock for 1yr is good, but that's a different conversation...