Andreessen on Why the Bay Area Still Rules

WSJ: What other regions are bubbling up on the tech landscape? There's a lot of start-up ferment in New York, for example.

Mr. Andreessen: There's a hotbed of innovation happening in New York and very innovative thinking. But what there isn't yet is a track record of big, important companies being built out there. Here, there's Google and others. There, it's all new and an experiment

A lot of New York entrepreneurs arguably aren't shooting big enough. They're shooting for relatively small outcomes. They say, "We'll never be more than 50 people and we'll always keep it small." Why? What's the point if you're not going to build something big? And they have their own echo chamber. Role models for building big important companies are in general not there.

WSJ: Silicon Valley has issues, though, such as a high cost of living. Do you see those affecting the Valley and its start-ups?

Mr. Andreessen: People hit middle age here and then they start saying all that stuff. You don't hear that from people in their 20s and 30s. That never comes up with young entrepreneurs.

Obviously there's merit to all the arguments. California is a mess in many ways and the Bay Area is a mess in many ways and it can be hard to get people to move here. That sucks. On the other hand, there's a reason [for the high costs]. Here's where the best opportunities are and where you make the most money over time. People have to optimize what they care about.
Keep Reading>>