CouldyoureproduceSiliconValleyelsewhere,oristheresomethinguniqueaboutit
Itwouldn’tbesurprisingifitwerehardtoreproduceinothercountries,becauseyoucouldn’treproduceitinmostoftheUSeither.WhatdoesittaketomakeaSiliconValley
It’stherightpeople.IfyoucouldgettherighttenthousandpeopletomovefromSiliconValleytoBuffalo,BuffalowouldbecomeSiliconValley.
Youonlyneedtwokindsofpeopletocreateatechnologyhub（中心）:richpeopleandnerds（痴迷科研的人）.
Observationbearsthisout.WithintheUS,townshavebecomestartuphubsifandonlyiftheyhavebothrichpeopleandnerds.FewstartupshappeninMiami,forexample,becausealthoughit’sfullofrichpeople,ithasfewnerds.It’snotthekindofplacenerdslike.
WhereasPittsburghastheoppositeproblem:plentyofnerds,butnorichpeople.ThetopUSComputerSciencedepartmentsaresaidtobeMIT,Stanford,Berkeley,andCarnegie-Mellon.MITyieldedRoute128.StanfordandBerkeleyyieldedSiliconValley.ButwhatdidCarnegie-MellonyieldinPittsburghAndwhathappenedinIthaca,homeofCornellUniversity,whichisalsohighonthelist.
IgrewupinPittsburghandwenttocollegeatCornell,soIcananswerforboth.Theweatheristerrible,particularlyinwinter,andthere’snointerestingoldcitytomakeupforit,asthereisinBoston.Richpeopledon’twanttoliveinPittsburghorIthaca.Sowhilethereareplentyofhackers（电脑迷）whocouldstartstartups,there’snoonetoinvestinthem.
DoyoureallyneedtherichpeopleWouldn’titworktohavethegovernmentinvestthenerdsNo,itwouldnot.Startupinvestorsareadistincttypeofrichpeople.Theytendtohavealotofexperiencethemselvesinthetechnologybusiness.Thishelpsthempicktherightstartups,andmeanstheycansupplyadviceandconnectionsaswellasmoney.Andthefactthattheyhaveapersonalstakeintheoutcomemakesthemreallypayattention.