Jamie Grill is an image.
Where is Silicon Valley?
In 2021, it is no longer a Bay Area hub backed by Sand Hill Road investors. The decentralization of capital to emerging ecosystems has changed our work as journalists, it has more to do with empowering local entrepreneurs to raise that follow-on round than it does with changing our work as journalists.
After Mary Ann published an exclusive look at how fundraising is moving beyond Silicon Valley, we decided to unpack our views on the long-term impact. Mary Ann followed up her reporting with a few thoughts about how the rise of startup hubs across America is nothing to be afraid of. As the market matures, data-focused reporting is a key plank of the startup journalism game. The Equity team is talking.
The way funding data was used doesn't matter anymore.
Mary Ann says that the decentralization of startups is not new.
The decline of aggregated startup funding data is good news.
The way funding data was used doesn't matter anymore.
In a world of fast- moving deals and the end of HQs, startup geography data has never mattered more.
Now that you are paying attention, I will say that this somewhat controversial mindset does not include emerging markets. Data from startup helped us understand how the entrepreneurial scene was growing. The concentration of capital in late-stage deals would show that the winners are the ones who are winning. Pre-seed startup are going to get a boost of energy from a thriving angel scene.
When the boundaries of traditional geography go away, what happens? You can be a startup in Boston, but where do your employees live? Where do your investors live? You may have answers, but they may only be correct for one month.
Digital nomads aside, my point is that distributed work's popularization clouds a little bit of our classic "local startup" news coverage. Detroit's scene may be booming, but thanks to a nod from Miami and a wire from Boston. I think this means that our data needs to focus more on networks than ever before, understanding how a startup's success has a ripple effect across other communities. The company's public debut may have helped the local startup scene, but what if the company's growth will only look international? I think we need to ask deeper questions about funding and ground-level wins.
