I regularly talk to entrepreneurs from all around the world who envision Silicon Valley to be the holy land of (tech) entrepreneurship. Don’t get me wrong — it’s pretty darn nice here (and trust me: You pay dearly for it… A semi-decent flat in the Valley is easily $4000/month these days). But it’s not the one and all for every entrepreneur — especially not in the near future.
The McKinsey Global Institute recently published a study which states that over the coming decade the 600 largest and best-connected cities on the planet will contain 20% of the world’s population, capture nearly 2/3 of its economic growth and will be responsible for about 50% of the world’s GDP.
It’s a staggering statistic — and one which should open your eyes. The (economic) future is in cities. And I would argue that it mostly doesn’t matter in which city you are these days. We are all one connected society anyway.
Awake the inner explorer in you, don’t over-fixate on today’s markets (as they shift quicker than ever) and ride emerging trends. And don’t fret if you don’t find yourself in Silicon Valley these days — the future is somewhere else anyway.