Do It Valley Style!

What we can learn about entrepreneurship from Silicon Valley

Together with the German Accelerator US Market Access class, our founders spent some very intense weeks in the Bay Area. They learned important lessons about the Valley. One of them: The Silicon Valley is a mindset, not just a place.

SQIN founders Martin and Maria at Stanford Campus.

Silicon Valley is characterized by a unique combination of location factors, making it a one-of-a-kind area for emerging companies:

• a unique environment to live and work in: great climate, waves, mountains — everything your heart desires
• very multicultural population
• highly educated people
• supported by several internationally renowned universities
• startups tend to raise very high capital rounds
• share-oriented ecosystem

Nevertheless, hubs around the world keep trying to copy this unique place.

The question is: Is the “Silicon Valley success factor” down to location or mindset? Can the Valley be duplicated?

The answer is: Not completely, but parts of it. Why is that?
Many factors play a role here and — in combination – make Silicon Valley so unique and inimitable. Two examples:

• The Valley is ahead decades, compared to other hubs.
• The density of different startups, industries, universities and globally successful corporates is truly one-of-a-kind.

Of course, there are other hubs that also generate an above-average number of innovations and successful companies. One of those is Israel. The reasons for its success:

• Founder market fit: Founders understand their market and create a unique product-market-fit.
• Safety: In Israel, cybersecurity is given a high priority.
• Expansion: Israeli entrepreneurs know that they are operating in a small, limited market. That’s why they plan for expansion from the very beginning.
• Focus: Most Israeli startups act mission focused.

So can the Valley be duplicated or not?

We learn from that: Silicon Valley as a place is NOT a condition for the Silicon Valley Mindset. The rules and mindset we see in Silicon Valley can now be used from all over the world. Of course, in the Valley, various success factors aggregate. So you can’t copy the Valley — but you can look to it as a role model. This is how it works:

• Ask yourself: What can I do to change something?
• Therefore, think big, but set tiny visions.
• Find your purpose (founder-market-fit): Change the world where there is a vision.
• Align your mindset for growth.
• Seize opportunities– as selling is most of the business, start selling before your product is market ready.