recently I get the feeling that the entrepreneurship ecosystem is once again falling into the divide of the pre-covid era: does it really matter where you’re building from?
there’s definitely a “big bay migration” underway - technical builders find themselves in either SF Bay Area, or the Chinese Greater Bay Area. Those who make the move swear by it.
a flower is ever so often given as the example on the other camp: even in the harshest of environment, be it a sidewalk or a dam wall, the resilient one will find a way to grow
my humble take is that we are simply at a point where, once again, we refuse to accept two truths at the same time.
I think the difference manifests itself in the first dive and the last overarm.
1/ the dive
if you’re doing something that has the product zeitgeist fit from the get go, you will go for it anywhere.
if it has precedent, you can only build on it. Truth is, you don’t need to be at the breaking edge of innovation to build a B2B marketing SaaS.
if you have decades of experience in the swim lane you’re diving into, you don’t need to be with the crazy builders.
alas, if you’re a daring builder, this all changes. If you’re diving into the unknown, you will benefit from a few more blind swimmers by your side - if for nothing, then for the simple fact that courage is contagious.
if you feel that you’re way out of your depth in your venture, you will benefit from a few more venturers in doubt of their reach - if for nothing, then for the encouragement you will get from seeing, loud and clear, that their heads are still well above water, and so is yours.
2/ the last overarm
the dive plunges you in. the overarm keeps you from sinking - scaling, selling, grinding through the churn until you reach the coast.
flower grit cracks concrete. fine for survival. but plants? they hunger for soil that feeds the stretch - networks dense enough to share oxygen, VCs who nod at your weird, talent that vibes your stroke.
once again, if you’re in the first category of builders, row solo from anywhere, APIs and freelancers are borderless. but if your bet’s at the bleeding edge, thin air starves you.
truth is, whenever I venture into something entirely unknown, it is the last stretch that pushes me the most. even when the product is built, the user surveys are conducted, and the brand is ready; the feeling of it all being utter nonsense creeps in.
it is at those moments that I need a soil that not only allows for survival, but also pushes me to bloom. that comes in the shape of others who stay up late on Sunday nights with you in a random WeWork just like you, bartenders who bring you a beer when you have to whip out the laptop at 2 am in a bar, and friends who make it easier for luck to find you and harder for falls to break you.
at the end of the day, i don’t think you need to upend your entire life in pursuit of greener grass - but that does not mean you can’t reach over every now and then to take it in.
that, at least, is what I intend to do in these next few months, as I quit my job, and set sail for a trip to the promised lands in which the flowers bloom the brightest - just to see what they do right, and hopefully bring some of it back with me.