Can Web-Based Startups Succeed Outside of the Valley?

Of course! I can name many successful tech companies that started outside of Silicon Valley.  However, after spending 12 weeks working out of the fbFund Rev incubator program in Palo Alto, it was clear that NutshellMail needed to maintain a presence in the Silicon Valley Geek-o-system.  You have to ask, “Why did Facebook relocate from Cambridge to Palo Alto and how did the move factor in their incredible success?” This was the very question we asked ourselves before deciding to leave our homes, family, friends and most importantly our significant others in Houston to move to the Bay Area.

Let me start off by saying that Houston, TX will always be home to me and is an incredible place to start a business.  With its corporate-friendly tax laws, low cost of living and concentration of educated people and Fortune 500 companies, it should be no surprise that many companies are relocating from California to Texas.  In addition, Houston has a vibrant tech scene that is supported by the Houston Technology Center, the Houston Angel Network and many individuals who have made it their mission to help young technology companies succeed. Let’s not forget that Houston is home to BMC Software and Compaq (eventually acquired by HP). For the bloggers among us, the founder of WordPress, Matt Mullenweg, got his start in Houston as well.

We still believe that Houston is a great place to start a tech company; however, after working out of fbFund offices in Palo Alto this summer, our decision to relocate to California was clear. It is well known, that the Bay Area has the largest concentration of venture capital, tech companies, journalist and online media buyers. Silicon Valley has become the mecca for technologist and entrepreneurs looking to make it big on the Internet.  For consumer-facing startups, there is no better place to be. This is where the money flows, the business development opportunities begin and the tech talent congregates. Most importantly, Silicon Valley has fostered a community of individuals who are passionate about how technology can enable a better life and really know how to nurture early-stage companies into the likes of Google, Yahoo and Facebook.

At the end of the day, there were two key reasons we decided to relocate to the Valley: Community and Serendipity.  No where else in the world can you walk into any bar, café or store and find people talking about website conversions, SEO, CPM rates, the latest news from TechCrunch or Mashable. Just the other day, standing in an elevator we landed a meeting with the founder of billion-dollar software company who has invited us to come to his office to discuss a potential business development deal. Technology is not just an economic driver in the Valley, it is a way of life. To be honest, most of the people here know more about launching a successful startup than we do; but they are more than happy to lend us a helping hand. Our friends from the fbFund have gone out of their way to share their experiences, reach out to their contacts and suggest ways we can improve our service and reach more customers. We have immersed ourselves in the community, going to hackathons, tweetups, tech conferences and lunch at Facebook. It is invigorating to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals who are so willing to help out new friends.

So back to the original question – can web-based startups succeed outside of the Valley?  Yes, but I would suggest to any aspiring entrepreneur to come spend a few weeks in the Valley to see what it is like. Silicon Valley has created an environment that greatly improves the chances of success.  If that was not the case, Facebook may still be headquartered in Boston.

Nirav Batavia
VP of Interactive Marketing
NutshellMail.com

This post was also published on the fbFund blog: http://fbfund.com/can-web-based-startups-succeed-outside-of-the-valley/