This blog post is based on Lisa Krieger’s article, “Silicon Valley
really is more innovative, study finds."
Silicon
Valley has a preceding reputation of fostering innovation, growth, and tech
startups. Many have researched as to
what makes areas, such as Silicon Valley, and the San Francisco Bay Area, so
fertile for high-quality startup growth. Researches have studied and failed to
identify locations similar to these areas, as the research was based around the
quantity, not the quality of startups.
MIT conducted a statistical study of
entrepreneurial economies. The Scott Stern, co-author of the study discussed
that “the highest-quality startups are centered around research institutions,
such as universities and laboratories.”
My take on the innovation and energy of Silicon
Valley it comes from the people and the culture. Many of the residents of the
Silicon Valley area are well-educated, highly ambitious college grads that seek
to “realize their dreams in their own ventures, not buried in a large company”
(Steve Ciesinski).
Steve Ciesinski, president of Global Partnerships
at Menlo Park’s SRI International commented on the MIT study. "Research
centers attract extremely bright, curious, energetic and ambitious people --
people who want to change the world in a positive way. Increasingly, they want
to realize their dreams in their own ventures, not buried in a large company."
The combination of well educated, highly ambitious
people living and working in a close area, who have access to university and laboratory
resources, and want to follow their dreams, provides the ingredients for startups
to grow and prosper.
The entire environment in the Bay Area is supportive
of startup growth and ambition. The venture capitalists in the area put money
back into their communities to fund and support startup and economic growth.
His personality is driven by his sense of humour, curiosity, and relax take on life. Jake is enthusiastic about learning, and seeks knowledge and new experiences.