There is a rivalry between New York City entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.  The California crowd boasts the most and some of the biggest venture capitalists in the country with a flurry of entrepreneurial beehives surrounding that funding flower.  But, New York City has it’s share of  top venture capitalists and a great treasure chest of bright, budding entrepreneurs as was evidenced at the smashing NYC Entrepreneur’s Week back in April.

However, east coast, west coast, and non-coast entrepreneurs are burdened by the history and past mentality that built their great cities in the first place.  New York City has been built into an epicenter of the USA’s best-of-best in food, art, finance, fashion, and many other industries. Because of the abundance of excellence, many start-up teams want or are pressured to have the trappings of the “big-guys” to prove their legitimacy.  I’ve seen professed bootstrappers demand a food stipend and car allowance before committing to a start-up company. That kind of mentality belongs to debutantes, not start-ups.

Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have pioneers, gold-diggers, and vigilantes as ancestors.  The west coasters have the sensibility to just go and build their companies despite not having all the pieces to their puzzle. The problem is that many young founders are going so hard and fast they don’t stop to ask, “Am I building something of lasting value?”  Too often, blood, sweat, and tears are being put into an over-hyped package that the founders expect to be bought out by an industry giant.

Building a company isn’t about being part of the in-crowd nor is it a sprint for quick money. I hope to see both New York City and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs over come the unnecessary cultural expectations that hold them back. May there be many winners on both coasts!

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