Hisham Sarwar
The economic environment in a country fosters the entrepreneurial spirit in a society. The stimulating economic environment creates grounds to set up new businesses. But there are some conditions that truly need to be met for the innovation in a society to flourish.
We are very well aware about the hub to various start-ups and global technological companies, Silicon Valley. But what we do not know about this Silicon Valley is that computer revolution never started here, it just flourished to its current state at this place.
The first ever modern computer was created in the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) at Princeton University on the East Coast under the supervision of John von Neumann. It was the original computer design and after that today’s computers are still arranged in that manner. Many of the technological developments took place in the areas around East Coast. Some of these are very famous such as AT&T’s Lab, IBM Research, and the Route 128 Corridor that are all situated in the nearby locations.
After the World War II everything changed and big corporations hesitated in investing at ventures with uncertain profitability. So the military research finances opt for a place like Stanford whose linear accelerator became successful in attracting a lot of technical talent from around the globe.
Today, all countries are trying to create a place just like Silicon Valley. Moscow and Dubai have become successful in creating technology centers such as Skolkovo and Media City. But creating an innovative place just like Silicon Valley is not an easy task. It requires a strong community, innovative ideas and improved circulation of money that sets the tone for building such a space. A place where new, amazing startups get an equal chance of being noticed, funded and supported because of closely knitted echo system, Silicon valley has all it requires to promote new startups that can take the world by storm,
The Creative Class:
According to Richard Florida who is one of the world’s leading urbanist, young professionals are not bound by any place to work. They can make any workplace counterproductive. He states that building an innovative place like Silicon Valley requires three core elements. These elements include talent, technology, and tolerance. Technology centers in Moscow and Dubai are in abundance with professional talent and technology but they lag behind with the third most important element of tolerance. This makes them always lose when it comes to building a place like Silicon Valley.
Tech Compounds:
A society’s culture plays a significant role in building a place that serves the purpose of Silicon Valley. All of the startup billionaires in Silicon Valley had to stick around and serve for the true purpose. They reinvested their capital, time, and energy and kept close ties with the community. This is very crucial for building an innovation center. This is the reason why a startup from hostel room gained so much popularity in a very short time and became the best social networking ebsite in the world
The actual treasure of Silicon Valley:
In world’s history, Silicon Valley is an amazing place. It attracts wealth and talent together in one place. But moreover it serves as an inspiration for the 21st century technological hubs. Many of the efforts are being made in order to create a similar place like it and huge investments are being done for the purpose. But these are creating no more than Potemkin Villages. The creators look at the splendor of the Silicon Valley but they fail to understand the true spirit and culture that this valley actually shares.
If all the master minds around the globe just understand the true idea behind the Silicon Valley, they can create their own technological places worth admiring. They need to focus on the basic purpose of serving for the community which is the true spirit and culture of the Silicon Valley.
