In Silicon Valley we have a plethora of international trade organizations ensconced to help facilitate business among US companies and investors with foreign companies wishing to enter the US market. I’ve noted that the longer the trade organization has a had presence in Silicon Valley the greater success they’ve had in transferring knowledge back to the home country for the benefit of their local entrepreneurs. Yet, no one has been able to replicate the success of Silicon Valley and the relative ease with which successful new companies are created in the US. There are many cultural reasons why Silicon Valley exists and remains the largest entrepreneurial ecosystem in the world. Risk-taking is a major factor…the US is more tolerant of failure than most other countries and more importantly there is significantly more upside to taking risks through better exit opportunities in the US. But what are the advantages for US companies to go outside their home country? What can these trade organizations offer to US entrepreneurs that can facilitate knowledge transfer…teaching entrepreneurialism to the home country while transferring technology knowledge to the US companies? Many of these countries function as venture capitalists but are they proactively drawing the best US entrepreneurs to partner with local companies or research institutes to fund rapid commercialization of new technologies? How do we facilitate two way traffic to enrich entrepreneurs in every country? And if they were to succeed how long would Silicon Valley sustain its competitive advantage?
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