East versus West: The Battle for Dollars
The age-old ‘East Versus West’ debate was a common theme at this year’s SEVC conference in Charlotte, NC. And quite frankly, I am over it. Not really a big surprise, I know, but after listening to practically every panel offering some kind of comparison or best practice, quite frankly it got a little old. I am tired of making excuses or feeling that we don’t measure up. Don’t get me wrong; I respect our fellow entrepreneurs and their accomplishments on the other coast. But it also starts to become a self-fulfilling prophecy after a while. Of course, if investors continue to focus their investments, resources, connections, etc. in that area then you are going to see more successes. But look at we have done in the Southeast without that same kind of lavish attention. Yes, we could use more folks in the “startup pool” that are willing to leave those lifestyle careers at SAS or Cisco but we need the backing of venture firms to create more companies so that when one startup fails there is another one to join. Do you think Silicon Valley made it there overnight? Why don’t you share some of those resources and let us show you what we can do.
Need more convincing? Here are some figures that came out of one of the SEVC panels (my apologies as I can’t remember the source but thinking it was Trevor Kienzle at Correlation Ventures)…I think they speak for themselves:
East versus West (since 2000):
Returns have been even – both 1.5x on both coasts
Exit values are 93m on West and 60m on East
Valuations are 57m on West and 36m on East
All with lower capital raised on East (25m) and 30m on West
Bottom line: There is more capital efficient behavior on the East Coast
To take the words from some famous folks that worked hard to bridge the gap between east and west:
You're all invited back a gain to this locality
To have a heapin helpin of our hospitality
Set a spell, Take your shoes off.
Y'all come back now, y'hear?.
**Beverly Hillbillies Theme Lyrics