Venture Love Locally

I tried telling a few early stage start-ups this precise thing and they didn't believe me. Says a recent New York Times article on the "20-minute" rule that guides fateful decisions in Silicon Valley: "Craig Johnson, managing director of Concept2Company Ventures, a venture capital firm in Palo Alto, Calif., who has 30 years of experience in early-stage financings, said he knew many venture capitalists who adhered to this doctrine: if a start-up company seeking venture capital is not within a 20-minute drive of the venture firm’s offices, it will not be funded."

Should it matter? I don't talk to as many early stage start-ups as VCs do but I probably talk to as many as the press does. Look at VideoEgg, who was based in Connecticut and are now in San Francisco (with Bay Area investors). Then there's another company I helped launch - Jingle Networks, who moved to Boston to be closer to their investors and in their case, attract employees. It's extremely common.

I know international companies where this simply isn't the case and had a Florida-based client once who simply wouldn't budge, however it is a typical scenario and something that companies (particularly in technology) face all the time. The article brings up some of the more serious investments in the Valley over the past few years and reference some of the big boys like Sequoia and Kleiner. In my experience (on the other side), it holds true. It would be interesting to hear the 'personal' side of the #3, 4 and 5 employees who don't anticipate a move (in some cases, across country), and either do or get off the bus.