“Silicon Valley is not a necessary and sufficient condition for success—it’s just one option,” says Ryan Hinkle, challenging the long-held belief that the Bay Area is the ultimate startup hub.
Hinkle is a Managing Director at Insight Partners, the giant New York-based venture capital firm that invests in tech worldwide. It has $90 billion in assets under management and just raised a new $12.5 billion fund.
Today on Equity, Julie Bort sits down with Hinkle to unpack the evolving landscape of startup ecosystems. They talk about the post-pandemic shift that saw many founders moving to cities like New York or Miami only for the rise of OpenAI and Cerebral Valley and the accompanying AI boom to reignite San Francisco and Silicon Valley in general.
While some founders say that they are now relocating their companies to San Francisco, Hinkle disagrees with the necessity of doing so.
He concedes that the Valley offers an unmatched talent pool but argues it also comes with steep costs and retention challenges, making it far from the only viable choice for startups.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- Why startup success isn’t tied to a single location but rather to access to skilled, loyal, and affordable talent
- How Silicon Valley’s abundance of opportunities creates a “mercenary” hiring culture, making employee retention difficult
- The key differences between building in New York vs. Silicon Valley, including financial management and access to venture capital
Equity will be back on Friday with our weekly news roundup, so don’t miss it!
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Wednesday and Friday. Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. For the full episode transcript, for those who prefer reading over listening, check out our full archive of episodes here.
