Why You Don't Need to Found Your Startup in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is the capital of venture capital and the acknowledged headquarters of disruptive ideas, fierce determination and hard work.

That aura of potential casts a golden glow on the zillions of Bay Area startups trying to make it big. It sometimes seems that if you’re blessed to work where unicorns graze, there’s no doubt you’re on the path to success. But what if you’re not in the San Jose-to-San Francisco corridor?

The truth is entrepreneurs and startups can flourish anywhere, even in places that lack Philz Coffee (said to be a favorite of Mark Zuckerberg) and whose residents would laugh at the conceit of $4 toast.


Small businesses -- which, by definition, include startups -- and entrepreneurship are doing just fine beyond the confines of Silicon Valley. According to the Kauffman Foundation's 2015 study of entrepreneurial trends, 38 of 40 major metro areas showed an increase in small businesses. These incuded cities such as Nashville, Tenn.; Austin, Texas; and Jacksonville, Fla.

Whether you’re in St. Augustine, Fla., (pop. 14,000) or Topeka, Kan., (pop. 128,000) a bit of creativity and persistence will enable you to assemble critical resources and position your business to thrive. Pay special attention to three vital areas:

6 Shrewd Moves for Entrepreneurial Success

Being a 21st-century startup entrepreneur isn't just about setting up a business, making a little profit, and then leaving it and jetting off to go set up another one elsewhere. No, you need to give your business the needed time and attention necessary for growth in a highly competitive industry, if you want it to survive.

Impatience for the business to bloom, before setting sail on another business, is a strong factor responsible for business failure.

Below are six shrewd business tips for every 21st-century entrepreneur who wants to start and build a profitable and sustainable business that will still be standing a long while.

For These Artisan Founders, Cute Small-Batch Goods Were Just the Beginning

Morton’s sells a perfectly suitable box of kosher salt. It’s $2.49 for three pounds. Then along comes Ben Jacobsen from Oregon, whose salt’s price is 650 percent higher. But his isn’t just any ole salt: It is pulled from a handpicked spot in the Pacific Ocean and run through a complex process of purification. It is not salt to just salt things. His is a highlight -- a “finishing salt,” the flaky crystals that chefs sprinkle on food right before serving to give it a pop of flavor.

Jacobsen launched his company in 2011 and called it Jacobsen Salt Co. He knew his price would make some scoff -- but that plenty of others would be willing to be impressed. “The challenge was to keep the product quality at the highest level possible and continuously improve quality over time,” he says, “and to convey the story of how our salt is made and why it is so special.”