Silicon Valley is the undisputed global leader in startup ecosystems, followed by New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Tel Aviv, London and Chicago. There are significant advantages to launching and growing a cleantech startup in one of these hubs. Some of these advantages include:
(1) Access to non-financial resources: Launching your new business in a major startup hub offers your new firm access to world-class resources that can facilitate your launch and growth. Some of these resources include engineers, coders, developers, mentors, networking groups, accelerators, incubators and professionals such as bankers and lawyers that are accustomed to working with startup firms.
(2) Access to financial resources: The world’s major startup hubs are home to clusters of venture capitalists, angel investors and others involved in funding startup firms. By locating close to their home base, you can increase your likelihood of getting a face-to-face meeting.
(3) Proximity to major partners or potential acquirers: Some, but not all, startups are launched with a specific goal of being acquired by a large tech firm. For these types of startups, locating in a major startup hub such as Silicon Valley can be a tremendous advantage.
(4) Ready access to major universities or other potential partners: Locating near a major research university or other type of potential project partner (e.g., testing lab, etc.) can be a major advantage for certain types of startups.
But once a startup is launched, growing it and taking the business to the next level can sometimes be challenging in many of the major startup hubs. In fact, businesses in certain types of industries may not be well-suited to grow in a startup hub. For instance, it may make sense to launch a renewable energy firm in a major startup hub, but once the firm starts to grow, its expansion potential can be limited due to large numbers of other renewable energy firms in the same sector also trying to grow their businesses.
Oftentimes, finding a suitable location to grow the business can be difficult. It can be especially challenging for firms
Should you consider growing your cleantech startup internationally?
By Ron Flavin