The impending Age Of Abundance was prophecied in the scriptures thousands of years ago.
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York City. Show all posts
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Monday, February 16, 2015
The Valley, Or Not, To Be
Silicon Valley is still the best place for your startup
Every city now seems to have a silicon something or other – whether it be London’s Silicon Roundabout, Berlin’s Silicon Allee or the Silicon Slopes of Salt Lake City....... My own experience with Zendesk, however, leaves me convinced that, at present at least, the original Silicon Valley remains the best place for budding tech startups looking to take their business to the next level. ..... there are deeply rooted cultural issues. Take Denmark’s famous law of Jante – an aversion to seeking or celebrating individual success ..... European startups raised more than $2.8bn in the last quarter of 2014 and are just as likely as their American counterparts to reach the hallowed ground of the Initial Public Offering (IPO). ..... Venture capital invested in US tech reached $8.67bn in 2013 compared with just $1.44bn in Europe. ..... There is still a perception of Europe as being overly bureaucratic, a perception that Europe sometimes reinforces. Take the EU’s tech-hub in San Francisco, catchily named the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Information and Communication Technology Labs (EIT ICT labs to friends). ..... Another thing holding Europe back is the persistent idea that failure is something to be ashamed of. This flies in the face of Silicon Valley’s fail fast, fail often mantra. Speaking from experience, failure has been a necessary and useful step on the road to success. For Americans, failure is a rite of passage. ...... Take SongKick – a great live music startup based in London. London is the world’s biggest live music hub, so why would they want to move?Goodbye Silicon Valley: why tech startups are flocking to megacities
tech businesses now need the energy, talent and diversity of the world’s megacities to thrive ...... Not a week goes by in the world of tech without someone heralding the globe’s next Silicon Valley – from New York City to Norwich, London to Lagos, the list goes on....... But the real story here is not the next Valley, it’s the death of the tech cluster as we know it...... started with the founders; a concentration of white, middle-class, socially awkward geeks, inseparable from their Macbooks. ....... If you have ever tried to visit the likes of Apple or Google in the heart of Silicon Valley you will know it is not an easy place to get to.... Back in its heyday, the Valley’s isolation from the rest of the status-quo of banks, big business and city life allowed it to thrive, think bigger and build world-changing companies. ...... In the new wave of tech centres no other city has raced ahead of the pack with this trend like New York. ...... In the Far East many look to Hong Kong which draws upon decades of experience as a world financial capital. It also boasts unbeatable access to China, the world’s biggest market. ....... This new generation of tech companies outside the Valley are less fixated with first-world problems like taking a selfie that looks like it has been taken with a vintage camera. These companies are disrupting centuries-old systems put in place by the establishment........ The key here is existing industries. ...... 6.5% of the world’s billion-dollar exits between 2005–12 were companies from Sweden. Again the majority of these success stories draw upon the city’s existing strengths in music, the arts and gaming. ....... Despite being on the doorstep of the Valley, San Francisco has fast become a magnet for tech talent drawn to the big city. The shift away from the Valley has become so strong that the likes of Google and Yahoo based over 30 miles away operate shuttle buses to move employees back and forth to their campuses each day. ...... Isolated clusters cannot fight the tide of talent flocking towards the bright lights of cities. San Francisco’s expensive and unpopular commuter buses are perhaps the best sign of the times, while pundits obsess over the next Silicon Valley, the world’s megacities are marching ahead.
The Unimaginative Motherfuckers Of The Old Economy
They say there is this cultural divide between California and New York City. All of Silicon Valley money comes from NYC. But California has the cultural advantage.
I have been aware of this. But I am staying put. Because, well, this is hometown. Also because the app I am working on -- this city is going to be the number one city for it. It will take your interactions with the city to a whole new plane.
And it is okay for the old economy to be in the backdrop. It is more than okay, it is actually very necessary. The apartment of AirBnb is old economy. Uber's cab is old economy. And they are just scratching the surface. The next wave of innovation in software is industry level. Which means we need people who can reimagine entire industries. Coders can be provided to them.
But when I say the unimaginative motherfuckers of the old economy, I am referring to this other type. Not only do they not get cutting edge innovation, they do not get the fundamentals of a tech startup, they actively act hostile given the opportunity. And there are a ton of those, plenty with Indian/brown faces, just to be fair. But it is equal opportunity, truly so. Like this guy on Wall Street who, believe it or not, wanted to do a tech startup, who would call VC money "funny money." Good luck with that. Or this dude who had a job where success was doubling the money every five years. Point be noted, money doubles on its own every seven years. All you have to do is not mess it up, just stay out of the way. Don't tinker. And he deals with big sums! I guess two years faster is still a margin, but then don't start commentaring on tech startups, in the negative, spilling one ignorance after another.
Very few people will do the tech startup thing. By definition. So it is not like you need 100% participation. And there is an affirmation you seek among other startup types. There is that ecosystem. It is a small island in a sea of the old economy, and that is the way it should be.
You do want to stay close to your average users. You do want to meet regular people.
But the unimaginative motherfuckers are a whole different thing. They lack it. They don't know it. And they will meddle if they can. Heck, they might even start a company!
Race, Gender And Tech Entrepreneurship
I have been aware of this. But I am staying put. Because, well, this is hometown. Also because the app I am working on -- this city is going to be the number one city for it. It will take your interactions with the city to a whole new plane.
And it is okay for the old economy to be in the backdrop. It is more than okay, it is actually very necessary. The apartment of AirBnb is old economy. Uber's cab is old economy. And they are just scratching the surface. The next wave of innovation in software is industry level. Which means we need people who can reimagine entire industries. Coders can be provided to them.
But when I say the unimaginative motherfuckers of the old economy, I am referring to this other type. Not only do they not get cutting edge innovation, they do not get the fundamentals of a tech startup, they actively act hostile given the opportunity. And there are a ton of those, plenty with Indian/brown faces, just to be fair. But it is equal opportunity, truly so. Like this guy on Wall Street who, believe it or not, wanted to do a tech startup, who would call VC money "funny money." Good luck with that. Or this dude who had a job where success was doubling the money every five years. Point be noted, money doubles on its own every seven years. All you have to do is not mess it up, just stay out of the way. Don't tinker. And he deals with big sums! I guess two years faster is still a margin, but then don't start commentaring on tech startups, in the negative, spilling one ignorance after another.
Very few people will do the tech startup thing. By definition. So it is not like you need 100% participation. And there is an affirmation you seek among other startup types. There is that ecosystem. It is a small island in a sea of the old economy, and that is the way it should be.
You do want to stay close to your average users. You do want to meet regular people.
But the unimaginative motherfuckers are a whole different thing. They lack it. They don't know it. And they will meddle if they can. Heck, they might even start a company!
Race, Gender And Tech Entrepreneurship
Saturday, February 07, 2015
The Ultimate Megacity: 100 Million People
- 100 million people: the biggest Megacity in the world.
- A mini earth in terms of cultural diversity.
- Everyone who lives in the city boundaries votes in the city boundaries.
- DC to Boston.
- The backbone: a bullet train. You could live in downtown Baltimore and work in Manhattan and not even think about the commute.
- JFK to Penn Station and Newark to Penn Station: short distance bullet trains. To get you there in minutes.
- Dedicated Caribbean organic farming to feed the Megacity. I don't know about you but I like mangoes.
- 100% electric vehicles in the territory. By law.
- A next generation industrialization in the entire Eastern half of the US that is 100% feeding on Clean Energy.
- WiFi in every inch of the territory through the TV spectrum. Free. Telecommuting should be the norm in the workplace, partially or fully.
- The NYC Subway will have to be reimagined. Levitate it. Extend it. WiFi 100% everywhere. People will be having business meetings in there. No coffee though.
Wednesday, February 04, 2015
Monday, February 02, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Friday, January 09, 2015
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Entrepreneur, Serial Entrepreneur, SuperEntrepreneur
I think being an entrepreneur is like being gay. Scientists say one out of 100 people are born gay. I think it is a similar ratio for entrepreneurs. Only one out of 100 people are entrepreneurs. You can not convince someone to become an entrepreneur, you can not train someone to become an entrepreneur, you can only discover them, help them, support them, aid them, nurture them, nourish them.
We all know New York City is part of the United States. But I think of New York City as a separate country altogether, it is so different from the rest of America, it is so different from even the other big cities in America. There is nothing quite like it.
Entrepreneurs are Homo Sapiens, we know that. But I think of them as a separate species. Entrepreneurs are so different from other people. You can feel it when you interact with them.
There are entrepreneurs, there are serial entrepreneurs and there are SuperEntrepreneurs. A SuperEntrepreneur not only builds a great company, or a set of great, big companies, but also builds a constellation of entrepreneurs around him/her.
It is like there are stars in the universe and then there are SuperStars.
The market value of a company is a good measure of the entrepreneur behind that company.
We all know New York City is part of the United States. But I think of New York City as a separate country altogether, it is so different from the rest of America, it is so different from even the other big cities in America. There is nothing quite like it.
Entrepreneurs are Homo Sapiens, we know that. But I think of them as a separate species. Entrepreneurs are so different from other people. You can feel it when you interact with them.
There are entrepreneurs, there are serial entrepreneurs and there are SuperEntrepreneurs. A SuperEntrepreneur not only builds a great company, or a set of great, big companies, but also builds a constellation of entrepreneurs around him/her.
It is like there are stars in the universe and then there are SuperStars.
The market value of a company is a good measure of the entrepreneur behind that company.
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