I talk to a lot of international founders and one of the biggest obstacles they face is fundraising. In some places, it's easy to raise seed, but hard once you hit Series A territory. In other places, it's even hard raising seed. The Bay Area has a huge population of angels. In the Bay Area, you're also surrounded by a large population of startup founders who can help you. If you're building a startup community internationally, you'd have to build both a community of angels and a community of experienced founders. It's a sacrifice for many founders to come to Silicon Valley for three months, but at this point in history, I believe it still helps most companies immensely.
Comments
I talk to a lot of international founders and one of the biggest obstacles they face is fundraising. In some places, it's easy to raise seed, but hard once you hit Series A territory. In other places, it's even hard raising seed. The Bay Area has a huge population of angels. In the Bay Area, you're also surrounded by a large population of startup founders who can help you. If you're building a startup community internationally, you'd have to build both a community of angels and a community of experienced founders. It's a sacrifice for many founders to come to Silicon Valley for three months, but at this point in history, I believe it still helps most companies immensely.
I don't think anyone would argue against the advantage of being there in person.
The question to me is this: can we make it better for people who can't be there? (I.e., raise the foundation, not debate the ceiling.)