http://feld.com/archives/2015/04/the-religion-of-silicon-valley.html
I'm sure a good number of you saw Brad Feld's (The Foundry/TechStars) article about Silicon Valley being a religion. In the article, he explains why Silicon Valley is a religion. However, I am reluctant to agree because of the weight that name implies. My question is: What’s the difference between being a culture and being a religion? Is there a spectrum? And if so, where does Silicon Valley fall?
Eleanor,
Clearly Silicon Valley is a location. The church building down the street is no more a religion than Silicon Valley. Both are populated by people that share a belief system and perhaps even a culture. I would venture to say that there is a Silicon Valley business culture. And yes, that culture and belief system can be quite different than what you can find anywhere else in the world. There are pockets of people around the globe that share those beliefs, but THE culture is most prevalent in Silicon Valley. It’s people believe that they can make something out of thin air, that people will want what they build, and that others who have money will see the potential and help them fund the idea. Lacking that culture, it’s hard to find startup funding in most other locals and impossible to find it in the magnitude that Silicon Valley usually manifests it.
Regards,
Reme