World News | Global talent is drawn to Silicon Valley because it celebrates failure, says Indian-American entrepreneur

Silicon Valley, June 5 (PTI) Talent from all over the world is attracted to Silicon Valley because it celebrates failure, an ecosystem not found elsewhere in the world, an Indian-American entrepreneur said.

The whole world wants to come to Silicon Valley. From emerging economies to Western economies, everyone wants a piece of the Silicon Valley pie, startup advisor and investor Mateen Syed told PTI in an interview.

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“It’s simple. It’s not about geography. It’s not just about technology. A lot of people don’t understand that…Here, you must have heard the mantra many times, failure is something to celebrate,” he said .

“Not because you failed, (but because) you’re not going to repeat the same mistake again, and the lessons you learn from that mistake could be in the business, in the next venture. People (here) are willing to take the risk for you. There’s no collateral when people invest in you. It’s just the thought they’re investing in,” he said.

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People in Silicon Valley invest in your ability and your future potential, he said.

“And they’re not going to take any collateral back from you, except for equity in the company, of course. But there’s nothing to take the money from. If you go to a bank or other lender, you have to have collateral. Mind is just what you put on the table. Collateral (in Silicon Valley).

“So the risk, of course that risk, is the smart money, and the money comes from a lot of experience with people,” he said.

Syed, who attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Silicon Valley event in 2015, said investors not only bring investment but also domain expertise to enable startups to succeed in the field.

“That’s what makes it (Silicon Valley) so unique and why it can’t be replicated anywhere else in the world,” he said.

India is on the cusp of becoming a global leader, he said.

“There is no doubt about this. India will continue to rise and develop. No one can stop it, no matter which government you support or not. It has nothing to do with the government. Governments can only promote growth. They cannot stop or change the growth pattern. It will continue ,”He said.

Talking about the entrepreneurial culture in India, he said that India has the largest population of young and very smart people in the world who are eager to connect with the world.

“I travel a lot to India. I talk to a lot of young startups and young students all over India. I see energy, I see energy. Where I think we have to be very careful is I see a lot of greedy people in young people. They think entrepreneurship has become a sexy thing because of these unicorns,” he said.

“If you’re not good at anything, you’re going to be a startup. Nope! We hear very, very few people in Silicon Valley who drop out of college to create multi-billion dollar companies. They’re naturally very smart people , who put their minds and energy into a single cause. We can’t take this as an example, apply one size fits all, and say it’s okay to fail.

A start-up, like any other business, must focus on the value he creates in the market, he said.

“Either you’re disrupting your customers or you’re delivering value to your customers. If customers aren’t willing to pay, you’re out of the game. At this point, I see, instead of focusing on the fundamentals, there are too many Hype it. We should stop the hype,” he said.

For long-term growth and sustainability, and for India to emerge as a leader in the startup space and innovation, it is necessary to stay grounded and focus on fundamentals.

“India has to lead. No doubt about it. But what’s important to me is, can we get down to the basics of how to be a good engineer, a good technologist, a good marketer and a good CEO? How do we make these things, the basics Rooted in our youth and grown from there?” Syed said.

“Greed; I use that word because it’s all about money, chasing money. It’s not good here,” Syed said.

“Otherwise, I think all the ingredients are there. We have the best education system in the world, going back 70 years,” he added.

“Now look, in all of Silicon Valley, is there a company that you don’t see, an Indian guy in a CXO position? It’s hard to find that company, right? That’s a great achievement for us. We This progress should continue,” he added.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)