Spirit of Silicon Valley

Since I am leaving silicon valley, I write this so that I can always remember the best of the valley and take it with me whereever I go. In my mind, the spirit of silicon valley is about unbridled optimism, huge Ambition to change the world/ invent the future, Hustle culture and great talent.

Unbridled optimism is central to the ethos of the valley. The belief that future is going to be great and advancements in science and technology is the way forward. Of course any technology is a double edged sword but believing that the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Big ambitions. Most if not all, the start ups in the valley are set out to change the world. Of course not all do but that is the minimum goal of the start up. And how do they change the world? By inventing the future. By making big bets on the future or improving the present in some substantial way. Sam Altman famously said it is easier to do hard things and it is to do easy things. People in the valley have big ambitions and you are much more likely to get their support (engineers/ investors) if you are working on something equally ambitiuous.

Inventing the future is hard but people in the valley want to do it really fast on a 5 to 10 year time scale. This leads to a crazy hustle culture of engineers immersed in doing something super important to them and the world. 12 hour days, weekends, I have definitely seen it all (or not?). But the energy is infectious as though you are gonna miss out on all the fun if you dont do it too.

The above three features of the valley attracts the best engineers, builders, designers and creators from all over the world. Who are also optimistic about the future. Who all want to be part of building the future. Who are also ambitious and hard working and ready to give it all. And who also share the same sense of urgency. And this leads to a pipeline of talent which leads to the valley. So engineers and entrepreneurs here get to work with the best people and that is super rewarding. Working with a team who is at the top of their fields is insanely cool and this is an experience I will cherish forever!