Location, Location, Location.....

Wisconsin Technology Network publishes a piece by Chris Shipley that talks about location, location, location - and does location matter for start-ups and emerging companies?

While I think location matters less than it used to, being in the heart of a technology belt DOES make a difference. I moved from an area that was crawling with technology opportunities, at least until 2000. Boston has MIT, Harvard and a boat load of other top notch universities and yet when the bubble burst, nearly everyone I knew, including high profile VPs and CEOs were flipping burgers and not just for a few months.

I lost quite a few friends during that time to other industries and cities around the country - they went to where the jobs were and where salaries were either higher or at least competitive to what they were used to. While some took a decrease in pay, their standard of living actually went up since housing was more affordable in other locations. Except for Silicon Valley of course.

Having made the jump myself in the past year, I noticed a spike in my business because of location. While I had clients from various parts of the country and world when I was in Boston, more and more technology companies seem to want to work with me, now that I'm based in the heart of Silicon Valley. I'm also finding that East Coast companies are considering west coast marketing and PR representation because its great for them to have someone "in the middle of the fire."

So sadly, I do think location still matters. I love being in the fire myself but loathe the frills that come with it - property prices, traffic and the struggle for balance, particularly when every event seems to be scattered with trimmings -- and conversations -- from the tech world.

The article points out that "the infrastructure to support technology development – broadband connectivity and plenty of caffeine – is available almost anywhere." While this is true, I think its harder to get Stanford and MIT grads to move to the middle of Kansas......or sophisticated marketing savvy pros to head to rural towns, where the only choice for greens on the menu is iceberg lettuce. There are other considerations of course, including the quality of schools, cultural diversity and airport access.

Having said that, and while I agree that location still matters more than not, people are tired of expensive and hectic lifestyles and looking for alternatives. While I could likely live in a few other cities and towns in the U.S., I'm not sure how I feel about the increased time on airplanes to get to the people and events I need to be at.......in my business, they tend to be in major technology hubs, SF, San Jose or New York.

I do look forward to a day however, where I can set up shop in two locations permanently. Perhaps one is Silicon Valley but instead of having a bi-coastal office, perhaps my second home is in Costa Rica or Hawaii. I think I could get used to that.