# Life outside the Valley

> You don't need to be in Silicon Valley to build a successful tech startup

- Author: Curtis Miller
- Published: 2006-10-22
- Categories: startups, business
- Canonical URL: https://millarian.com/posts/life-outside-the-valley/

As you may have noticed, I am not located in Silicon Valley, yet I am pursuing a technology startup. The NY Times ran a story entitled [It’s Not the People You Know. It’s Where You Are.](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/business/yourmoney/22digi.html?ex=1319169600&en=bc0cc83c6bc39382&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss) . The premise is that you should be in Silicon Valley if you are a startup.

Of course, I disagree as do [others](http://blog.webreakstuff.com/2006/10/no-need-for-the-valley/). What do [Skype](http://www.skype.com), [Last.fm](http://last.fm), [Netvibes](http://www.netvibes.com), [Xwiki](http://www.xwiki.com), and [Feedburner](http://www.feedburner.com) have in common? Hint: not Silicon Valley. And those are just the ones I know about. I'm sure there are others.

That's not to say a location in Silicon Valley would not be beneficial. It certainly could be, but don't believe the hype that you **absolutely must** be located in the valley. Take your idea and run with it wherever you are.

_Know of other non-Silicon Valley startups? Post them in the comments!_