Silicon Valley.
The Land of the Startups. Stemming from Sand Hill Road, venture capitalists choose bright, young innovators with brilliant ideas and high hopes. They are given office space and capital, coffee and Oreos as sustenance and unleashed to develop a marketable product.
Getting a startup off the ground isn’t just software development; it requires marketing acumen as well. Through a process similar to natural selection, only the strongest survive.
I got the chance to visit one of those companies and to see what life is actually like for a burgeoning startup with a fantastic idea in the US’ startup hub. But as my impression of Palo Alto originated from The Network and HBO’s Silicon Valley, I had no idea what I was walking into. As much as I hate to say it, both of those initial impressions were surprisingly accurate. A group of M.I.T. graduates, one of which was my brother, moved out west to found Mirador Technologies, Inc. The company’s founding members are developing image-based recognition software using the principles of machine learning, essentially to detect porn. They receive initial capital from an Angel Investor, got set up in an office space, and dedicated their summer to democratizing image intelligence. If anyone can create cheaper, more efficient image recognition software, it’s them.
All living in a communal house for the summer, work life is nebulously woven into home life. They are always accountable for getting their various tasks done, but they also are able to let off steam together. Since none of the group is native to Palo Alto, let alone California, they are all experiencing Silicon Valley culture intimately.
Coming from Boston, Palo Alto dances to a different tune. The city itself is very homogenous and inescapable. Every where you look, there is a stressed-out looking guy on a laptop in the middle of a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, park or anywhere else young people like to hang out. For all intents and purposes, Palo Alto does not have nightlife to speak of. The city is full of smart guys looking to make money (a deadly combination), like a collaboration of the business and the engineering schools. It is very clear that Palo Alto is a place for work, not play.
The culture is hyper competitive and fast-paced, spearheaded by these venture capitalists. Each driving a ridiculously fancy car, wealthy investors of various backgrounds, many of them ex-professional sports players, focus on the business side rather than the technology side. There is a sense of camaraderie yet intense competition between these Angel Investors of who can choose the one product that might be “the next big thing”. So the capitalists employ numerous exploitative strategies to find which new company meets the criteria. Networking meeting are where potential investors, startups and lawyers all mingle with various agendas. The startups promote themselves with abandon among the investors, using buzzwords like “disruptive technologies”, “agile business strategies”, “pivoting into new markets” and “lean business model”. The lawyers attempt to be young and hip, trying to get in with the next emerging company on the ground floor. The investors flit around as the ones with the true power in the situation, being catered to by both parties.
Silicon Valley is its own microcosm; full of transient startups, lawyers struggling to be relevant, and haughty venture capitalists. All these entities feed off of each other, seeping all the usefulness from each other. This hub of knowledge, innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship fosters growth, but also culls from the herd. Almost every aspect of Palo Alto is designed to weed out the startups that don’t have the wherewithal to succeed with this fast-paced, cutthroat culture. With the lack of other activities, the constant pressure from your peers, mentors, and partners, it is no wonder that Silicon Valley isn’t for everyone. But personally, I think that’s a good thing. I don’t want a world filled with single-minded, exploitative, self-promoting businessmen who don’t know how to have fun. Life’s more fun with a little variety, don’t you think?
