My trip to Colombia was an opportunity for reflection on the new model of emerging companies: products and companies born in one part of the world that gain traction and investment with relocation to Silicon Valley. Generally speaking, in the past few years we have seen a number of entrepreneurs choose to take a very deliberate strategy in attempting to build a global company:
- Develop a product and gain some traction in their country of origin.
- Incorporate a company in Delaware, contribute the IP to the new company.
- Move business HQ to San Francisco Bay Area to seek investors, partners and customers, all the while participating in Silicon Valley’s unique startup culture. Meanwhile, the company’s development team remains in the country of origin, which reduces development costs and provides competitive advantages to the business.
There are obviously risks to this model. It requires the capital to move to the Bay Area, a shift of attention from a (often successful) local company to taking a risk on becoming a global company, and the determination and skill to succeed in the ultra-competitive global market.
If you succeed, well, the rewards can be incredible. But even if you “fail” you will have had a better entrepreneurship experience than any MBA can provide and have developed experiences, contacts, networks and knowledge that will make your next venture (or job, if you choose to go that route) all the more successful. It’s ultimately a personal and business decision, but it is a path that many very successful teams have taken.