Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made a splash last weekend when he said that if he could turn back time, he would stay in Boston to launch his company rather than move to Silicon Valley.
Zuckerberg, who delivered his comments in an onstage interview with Y Combinator partner Jessica Livingston, said he is bothered by short-term thinking in the Valley, and suggested employees are less likely to commit to companies that aren't interested in building over the long haul.
“There’s this culture in the Valley of starting a company before they know what they want to do," he told Livingston. "The companies that work are the ones that people really care about and have a vision for the world, so do something you like.”
The Twittersphere lit up in response, much of it of the 'Amen' variety, but Zuckerberg's comments also drew a rebuttal from GigaOM founder Om Malik, who suggested Facebook could not have grown to such phenomenal proportions so quickly had it not been for Silicon Valley's rich talent pool.
The debate raised a question long familiar to Waterloo Region tech entrepreneurs: Do I have to move to the Valley to be successful?
We'd love to know what you think. Tweet us @communitech or leave a comment below.
