There is only one Silicon Valley. It's silly to think otherwise, although it seems to be getting recycled constantly by journalists and economic development people.
It's high time however that startups become more popular in the Midwest. If you are profitable, growing rapidly you can raise venture capital in the Midwest. However that rules out the majority of startups. That's a big reason that our best and brightest make the pilgrimage out West.
What we need to see are startup clusters, let the companies stay in place. In Michigan it is starting to happen, but progress is still woefully slow. Angels are in just as short supply as venture capital.
>If you are profitable... you can raise venture capital in the Midwest
This is the number one biggest difference between Midwest startups and SV startups. Even Basecamp said it, Midwest startups have to prove their profitability on day one before any VC will pay any serious attention. Whereas in SV, you can get money with just a team and a Powerpoint presentation.
Wonder why there are no unicorns from the Midwest? Because if unicorns made money their valuation would be significantly lower. They're only unicorns because no one knows how much they're worth, and everyone knows exactly how much Midwest startups are worth on day one.
It's high time however that startups become more popular in the Midwest. If you are profitable, growing rapidly you can raise venture capital in the Midwest. However that rules out the majority of startups. That's a big reason that our best and brightest make the pilgrimage out West.
What we need to see are startup clusters, let the companies stay in place. In Michigan it is starting to happen, but progress is still woefully slow. Angels are in just as short supply as venture capital.