“Oakland has a unique opportunity. It has an opportunity that no other region has anywhere in the world, so if Oakland can’t do it, no one else can,” Selassie said.
I don't see any reason to believe that. I mean if Oakland pulls it off -- diversifying tech and becoming an important hub in that regard -- awesome. But I see no reason to believe that it has to be something in the SF Bay Area. Part of what made Silicon Valley a growth opportunity is that that area was relatively undeveloped and it was, thus, cheap. Historically, a lot of our biggest companies were founded during a recession or depression and a lot of stuff was founded someplace cheap. In order to go live someplace expensive, you need to already be making good money. By definition, brand spanking new businesses and industries are not doing that.
So I don't see any real reason to believe that any place in the SFBA is The Spot to bet on for becoming "the next Silicon Valley -- only for X thing or with X twist."
I don't see any reason to believe that. I mean if Oakland pulls it off -- diversifying tech and becoming an important hub in that regard -- awesome. But I see no reason to believe that it has to be something in the SF Bay Area. Part of what made Silicon Valley a growth opportunity is that that area was relatively undeveloped and it was, thus, cheap. Historically, a lot of our biggest companies were founded during a recession or depression and a lot of stuff was founded someplace cheap. In order to go live someplace expensive, you need to already be making good money. By definition, brand spanking new businesses and industries are not doing that.
So I don't see any real reason to believe that any place in the SFBA is The Spot to bet on for becoming "the next Silicon Valley -- only for X thing or with X twist."