hot take — San Francisco is still the center of the startup world
since the pandemic started people have been saying SF is dead
but rent is lower and a whole new wave of young, ambitious builders are moving there
here are 7 reasons i'm bullish on SF:
proximity to top universities:
stanford and berkeley have attracted students who've gone on to create over 70 unicorn startups
SF is the most popular destination for new grads from the schools
they've had 4 years to build local bonds by the time they've graduated
capital and talent network effects:
SF has the highest concentration of anywhere in the world of:
- vcs
- angel investors
- people who've built unicorns
great builders are attracted to areas where they can learn fast and build faster
less downside risk for startups:
SF has the highest density of risk takers
ironically this creates an environment where there's less downside risk to making big bets
if your startup fails in SF the people around you still want to learn from you
the lindy effect:
silicon valley started in the 1970's... 50 years ago
it's hard to overstate how hard it is to overcome massive cultural inertia like that
even though some people have packed up and left, many others have deeply rooted lives and families in SF
it's a "boring" city:
candidly there's not a lot of great nightlife and entertainment in SF
especially relative to other startup hubs like NYC, miami, and LA
fewer distractions means more building
willingness to be weird:
SF may be the quirkiest major city in the US (apologies portland)
the patagonia-wearing 2010's were an anomaly in SF's history
seeing others get outside their comfort zones creates psychological safety to do the same
frontier mindset:
SF has been the frontier for generations
from the gold rush to the hippie movement and then to silicon valley
this has created a culture of experimentation and boundary-pushing that is ideal for taking big risks
launch house started as a way to bring the silicon valley mindset everywhere
- ship fast
- work hard
- reward disruptors
and we've been told many times "@launchhouse feels like SF in LA/NYC"
@thatguybg and i spent formative years in SF and we're not buying that "SF is dead"
but what do you think? is SF dead?
issfdead.com
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