Detroit became the center of the American automotive industry primarily for logistical reasons: The location in the Midwest, the high population density and the proximity to raw materials were just a few factors that secured investors an ideal location for the construction of an industrial center.
Silicon Valley’s tech ecosystem, on the other hand, was originally sown through military research and a surge in college admissions after World War II that fostered a community of technologists and investors.
But these are not permanent geographic features like proximity to ports or large iron and copper ore deposits.
Decades after Palo Alto’s first garage startup, talent and capital are more evenly distributed: This year Bay Area startups attracted only 27% of all US seed and early-stage venture dollars.
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“It’s been more than 10 years since that percentage fell below 30%,” said Mary Ann Azevedo, who analyzed Beyond Silicon Valley, a report by investment firm Revolution and PitchBook.
She identified several factors that drove investors in large tech centers to venture outside of their own backyards in search of opportunities. Many readers will be surprised to learn which city is now the top dollar destination from NYC and SF investors.
“This dynamic that we are seeing now? You haven’t seen anything, ”said Revolution founder and CEO Steve Case.
Some might think that “Silicon Valley’s share of US VC funding is falling to its lowest level in more than a decade” is a scary headline, but from my perspective as a resident, this is great news. The San Francisco Bay Area has benefited tremendously from becoming a magnet for tech talent and money, but it has also had unintended impacts on the area’s infrastructure, housing, and income inequality.
I mean we have the best food and weather, but we certainly haven’t cornered the market with good ideas. As more people start-up in cities like Cincinnati, Portland, and Buffalo, not only will these communities benefit directly, but we’ll also see new products and services that reflect a greater diversity of thought and location.
Thank you for reading and have a nice weekend.
Walter Thompson
Senior Editor, TechCrunch +
@yourprotagonist
3 disruptive trends that will shape marketing in 2022
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The rules of the game of growth marketing have changed significantly since the beginning of the pandemic.
Consumers welcome Apple’s iOS 14.5 privacy changes, regulators show greater interest in browser cookies, and The Great Resignation are just a few X-factors, but there are many others.
“What worked yesterday may not work today and probably won’t work tomorrow,” wrote Jonathan Metrick, Chief Growth Officer at Sagard & Portage Ventures, and Simon Lejeune, User Acquisition Lead at Wealthsimple.
Here’s what to prepare for:
- Less data, more privacy, and the return of growth hacking.
- TikTok, influencers and the dominance of native creatives.
- The big resignation and the Gettysburg for growing talent.
This gives you customer research that shapes your go-to-market strategy
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A marketer is one of the most important new hires in a startup, but more importantly, figuring out who your end users are and what they want from your product.
“You must first get to know your prospect and understand what is going on in their life that will ultimately drive them to use you,” writes Lucy Heskins, an early stage startup marketing consultant.
Heskins shares three key questions to help you better understand your target customers, along with recommendations for applying the data you will collect in future marketing campaigns:
- Why should a customer subscribe to your product?
- What makes your customers choose your product?
- Who else are you up against?
Dear Sophie: 2 questions about the resumption of consular appointments
Credit: Bryce Durbin / TechCrunch
Dear Sophie,
I sponsored my fiancé for a K-1 visa just before the pandemic last year. Unfortunately, the consulate canceled my fiancé’s visa interview and he has not yet received his visa.
What is the status of the visa interviews after the travel restrictions to the US are lifted?
– Pining in Pittsburgh
Dear Sophie,
I am in the US with an approved H-1B petition but I don’t have an H-1B visa stamp on my passport. I want to visit my family in Mumbai.
Will I get a visa stamp in time to return to the US within a month?
– Longing for home
The special investment management industry
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Investment management is one of the few industries in which the victory of one manager leads to the loss of the other, write Versatile VC founders David Teten and Katina Stefanova, CIO and CEO of Marto Capital.
“If you have a great steak dinner, it doesn’t mean other people have to eat hot dogs. In asset management, every new asset manager who generates alpha (return above passive benchmark performance) does so at the expense of other managers who are underperforming. “
In the first article in a series that deals with investment management, Teten and Stefanova give us a look at the current state of the industry and explain why it is prepared for disruption.
Usage-based pricing is an enterprise-wide effort
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In his latest guest post for TechCrunch +, OpenView partner Kyle Poyar explains why usage-based pricing “is an enterprise-wide effort” that “requires ditching the old SaaS metrics playbook.”
It’s not a fad: UBP went mainstream because SaaS companies that use it see dramatically higher growth and retention rates.
Quoting examples from top performers like Twilio, Stripe, AWS, and others, Poyar explains how UBP companies “share their customers’ success” and reduce their risk of having a CRM with many unprofitable customers.
