Nothern Virginia is going to unseat Silicon Valley as tech startup

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mark my words.

With the terrible tax and anti business policies of California it is only a matter of time until companies leave and go to more hospitable environments like NOVA.

Don't forget MD and VA have some of the best STEM universities in the nation which produced a google founder .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/washington-area-pops-onto-tech-radar-as-alternative-to-silicon-valley/2014/01/20/b16003c4-6662-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html?hpid=z1

As someone who has run tech companies here and in the bay area, tax policy isn't going to make a difference in anyone's decisions, unless you are building a factory or distribution center with lots of floor space and low wage labor, like the Google data center or a PC manufacturing operation.

The power of Silicon Valley is the concentration of expertise in all areas pertaining to technology, on the business and technical sides. No matter what kind of job you need to fill, chances are someone there has done it before.

The negatives of SV are the very high wage rates and the willingness of employees to hop from company to company. If you area already working in multiple geographies, you quickly realize that you are paying 50% more than the East Coast employees and more than double what you can get in other countries, and not just low wage countries but pretty solid tech pools like Israel. These SV wages are not created by tax policy. It's the demand for talent.

DC has one strategic advantage, which is that the Federal Government is a large consumer of services, a buffer against market cycles, and the source of some pretty unique technology demands. Wages are pretty high here, better than SV but it is more of a struggle to find the top level of talent here, and consequently they also cost a lot even though the average programmer, sysadmin or DBA is lower paid.

Ultimately, SV's grip on technology will have to loosen, because the importance of location will increasingly weaken. But it won't be because of government.

you could make the argument that importance of location will strengthen in the future due to the 'winner take all' phenomenon in tech and to position yourself to be the 'winner' being in the location that allows you to tap into the best expertise, talent, and money-pool matters even more than before.

[Anonymous]

MD has great biotech area. Yes--San Diego does too.
noVa has lots if great IT.
Fed agencies and govt are all over DC,MD andVA.

This is why this area is a boomtown and we didn't have a crash like other parts if the country .

OP- we don't have to be the center--but it's great not to be in a one horse town!

[Anonymous]

The debate here on DCUM isn't really whether NoVa will unseat Silicon Valley, which won't happen. It's whether NoVa will continue to outpace DC and MD with respect to economic activity, and that seems entirely possible. The equivalent of the Pacific Heights mansion around here is a home in Georgetown or the Gold Coast of McLean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and Pimmit Hills will surpass SF high society in its elegance. Who needs a Pacific Heights mansion when you could entertain in style in a ranch house overlooking the Toll Road?

[Anonymous]

OP must be that loon who is always pushing Mosaic District/silver line and always bashing other communities.

(p.s., I'm in IT and hope that the whole DC area does see growth in this area. I have also worked out in the Bay area and it's really a different league of VCs/networks/entrepreneurs out there.)

[Anonymous]

It's not a zero sum game - either locally or nationally.

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of talent here in the DC area compared to other areas. Not as much as California but we aren't far behind. People in tech aren't stupid and many have left California for DC for stability and better cost of living.

[Anonymous]

Isn't IT and cybersecurity totally different from the programmers and software and hardware engineers though? The former run and maintain what the latter create??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't IT and cybersecurity totally different from the programmers and software and hardware engineers though? The former run and maintain what the latter create??

Its all IT. Information Technology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing NoVa is really missing is the university.

George Madon is huge and an excellent school

Ha, so not true. Commuter college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The only thing NoVa is really missing is the university.

George Madon is huge and an excellent school

Ha, so not true. Commuter college.

Is it 1988 still? but besides that Maryland , vtech, uva are also excellent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mark my words.

With the terrible tax and anti business policies of California it is only a matter of time until companies leave and go to more hospitable environments like NOVA.

Don't forget MD and VA have some of the best STEM universities in the nation which produced a google founder .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/washington-area-pops-onto-tech-radar-as-alternative-to-silicon-valley/2014/01/20/b16003c4-6662-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html?hpid=z1

What STEM universities? Think the Google guy only went to UMD because his dad taught there. His real fame and access to VC money and connections were at Stanford.

[Anonymous]

have you ever been to Silicon Valley? Trust me, it's not going anywhere. People are happy, thriving, and still getting rich - albeit at a slower rate than during the boom. NOVA may increase it's market share, but it will never unseat Silicon Valley.

[Anonymous]

The danger is that the Washington area will become, if it has not already, like SV where the cost of loving is so high that on,y the rich can afford to live there.

[Anonymous]

It definitely has become a powerhouse of tech, I'll give you that. But not for startups. On reason -- DC has a long way to go to become the place that young people really want to live. Despite all the progress, it's still very sterile and stuffy and is still a government city. It needs to become a lot more artsy and hip before startups -- and the venture capital firms that fund them -- will want to begin or stay here.