Silicon Valley’s Culture Is The Result of Its Success, Not The Cause
Culture doesn’t always eat strategy for breakfast
A recent article by NFX, a Bay Area-based VC firm, titled “Where to Build Your Startup” got many things right about where to build your startup, but still fell short on a key issue.
Most importantly, arguing that culture was the cause, not the result of Silicon Valley’s success. So the logic goes, replicating Silicon Valley’s culture can replicate Silicon Valley. The article states:
Now that the world is increasingly going remote, we believe that one big opportunity is to find people that share these cultural protocols and this same mindset, independently of location. This is the secret of success for a startup ecosystem and the engine behind Silicon Valley’s network effects.
However, in Silicon Valley’s case and other marketplace-like interactions, culture is merely the result — not the cause — of success. This may seem like splitting hairs, but the distinction is critical because it dramatically alters the decisions that you make.
If you think culture is the cause of success, you can create success by having the right culture. If culture is merely the result of success, culture is much less relevant and you should look to uncover the real…
