An entrepreneur whose business operates in cities including London and New York has revealed that the best place in the world to start a new company is Silicon Valley, calling it “unrivalled as a place to focus”.
In 2016, 33-year-old Amber Atherton launched her startup, Zyper, in London, where she spent a year raising seed capital and building a customer base.
During this time, Atherton and his colleagues were also designing software that helped brands connect with loyal fans.
While the UK was a great place to recruit smart talent, it proved to be a difficult environment to scale a company “that is neither fintech nor rooted in academia.”
Amber Atherton, 33, said the best place in the world to start a new business is Silicon Valley, calling it “unparalleled as a place to focus.”
“I feel truly at home in California,” Atherton said. “While I loved living in London and New York, there’s something special about the Bay Area. The Valley is unmatched as a place to focus, build and invest in the future.”
Atherton, who grew up dividing his time between Hong Kong and England, said the size of the UK market was not big enough.
“The venture capital and funding ecosystem is larger in the United States, particularly in Silicon Valley,” he said. Business information.
“Plus, there’s an exceptional and deep talent pool, so there’s a faster path from raising a pre-seed round to hiring the people needed to hit milestones.”
Atherton also noted that there is a greater tendency in the United States toward risky companies.
“There is a cultural appetite for risk in the US that is not as strong in the UK. The very DNA of America is the American dream,” he said, before again highlighting the unique allure of Silicon Valley.
“Particularly in Silicon Valley, there is a tendency to very quickly back up ‘ideas from zero to one’ and create something completely new,” he explained. Business information.
Atherton, who grew up dividing his time between Hong Kong and England, said the size of the UK market was not big enough.
While the UK was a great place to recruit smart talent, it proved to be a difficult environment to scale a company “that is neither fintech nor rooted in academia.”
In 2017, Atherton left Zyper after being accepted into Y Combinator, a popular accelerator program for startup founders.
He settled in Palo Alto with some colleagues from his company and was struck by “how suburban Palo Alto was.”
The entrepreneur said she found a “supportive and competitive environment” at Y Combinator, which included “regular coaching, office hours with partners… and inspiring guest speakers.”
Michael Seibel, the accelerator’s CEO, urged members to remain in the Bay Area after the program ends, calling attention to its “ecosystem and talent.”
Although Atherton took their advice on board, in 2018 he decided to move his company to New York, where he could be “closer in time zone to the UK”.
“It was difficult to go from Palo Alto, a hyper-concentrated environment, to a city that operates 24/7 with a hundred million things to do,” he admitted. Business information.
In 2018, Atherton decided to move his company to New York, where it could be “closer in time zone to the UK”.
In New York, the young businesswoman found herself faced with countless distractions.
“There is so much stimulation in the city: theatre, art, museums. I remember being distracted by the endless opportunities to attend parties and dinners,” she said.
This is in stark contrast to San Francisco, “where everyone is always talking about starting companies and it’s easier to meet investors and potential hires.”
Atherton admitted that New York offers “a great talent pool and founder ecosystem, particularly in crypto and AI.”
“If you want to be totally focused without distractions, there’s nothing better than the Bay Area,” said the young entrepreneur.
He also noted that he “knows founders in New York who have no problem dealing with the pace and distractions” and that “after the Bay Area, New York is the next best market to invest in.”
“But if you want to be totally focused without distractions, there’s nothing better than the Bay Area. After about a year in New York, I realized we should probably move back,” he said. Business information.
In late 2019, just before the pandemic, Zyper closed its New York and London offices and moved to San Francisco.
“I feel truly at home in California,” Atherton said. “While I loved living in London and New York, there’s something special about the Bay Area. The Valley is unmatched as a place to focus, build and invest in the future.”
For Atherton, his only concern about the area is “the politics that get in the way.”
“I think there’s something very special about the ecosystem and history of Silicon Valley. The most important software companies were founded here,” Atherton said.
While she acknowledged that it was smart to have an “independent body regulating AI for consumer protection,” the Zyper founder said that “if politicians over-regulate or over-tax the operation of AI, that could slow down technological advancement.”
In 2020, Zyper was acquired by Discord, where Atherton worked for two years before joining a venture capital firm as a partner.
“I think there is something very special about the ecosystem and history of Silicon Valley. The most important software companies were created here,” he said.
Atherton added: “The next Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley.”