East Coast - West Coast
With a blog named “Right Coast Tech”, I feel compelled to comment on XConomy’s article Is Boston Venture System is Losing More Ground to the West Coast ?
This is not the first and won’t be last “East Coast Vs. West Coast Venture Scene” article. The problem I have with all of them is that they’re answering the wrong question.
Strawberry is Much Better
They remind me of the Boston-New York arguments that inevitably happen when a New Yorker comes to Boston. New York has much better nightlife, is much bigger, and has better bagels. These are facts, not arguments and miss the point. If you care a lot about bagels, clubbing until 3 am, and being surrounded by 8 million people, then you’re going to like New York. Boston has more history, is a short drive to the suburbs and nature, and is much smaller. If you like walking the Freedom Trail, hiking in the mountains, smaller cities, and not being surrounded by tons of people all of the time, you’ll like Boston. Arguing about which city is “better” is as interesting as arguing over chocolate or vanilla ice cream.
The West Coast VC ecosystem is bigger, which means you’re exposed to many more ideas, people, and VCs. That’s a fact. There’s pros and cons to this. Having access to many more co-founders, employees, and potential investors is a benefit. On the other hand, you’re competing with many more entrepreneurs. Additionally, being exposed to more ideas is not necessarily better. A case can be made for over-stimulation. An entrepreneur only needs one idea. Having 3,000 doesn’t help and, in fact, it’s likely to hurt. Warren Buffet lives in Omaha for a reason. That said, there’s plenty of other great investors who thrive in New York.
It’s Irrelevant as All Ice Cream Is Good
An entrepreneur should use an approach for networking, raising money, and hiring that fits the ecosystem in which she’s operating. But that’s true of a number of variables besides size. Like the economy for example: if times are tough, one should be more conservative in financial projections of burnrate and when to raise capital.
More importantly, a good idea and a good team is going to do great things in any venture ecosystem in any economic time. If Boston’s scene has no growth over the next 5 years, it will still be good for a variety of reasons and still a great place to launch a venture.
