Why Every Founder Should Spend Time in the Bay

A UK founder told me she's uprooting her family and moving her company to Palo Alto. After one summer in the Bay Area, she couldn't imagine building anywhere else.

She's worked in many major cities. But she says nothing compares to the Bay. I've seen this firsthand building and scaling companies here. What makes the Bay different?

Density. Everyone is building something. Your neighbor might be a founder. The energy is palpable, even in casual encounters.

Generosity. People help each other. Mentorship happens naturally. Introductions flow without asking for anything in return.

Serendipity. You bump into your next investor at a coffee shop. Your future co-founder is at the same event. Casual conversations turn into customers.

Community. Peer groups. Support networks. Later-stage founders who've been through what you're facing. You're never building alone.

Ambition. Founders here are dreamers, sometimes to a fault. But people encourage it. Dream big is the default, not the exception.

Founders don't all need to move here, but I believe every founder should spend meaningful time here.

The Bay isn't perfect. Housing is brutal, the bubble is real, and some of the hype gets exhausting. But if you're building something ambitious, there's no better place to feel like that ambition is normal.

The energy intensifies because everyone around you is building too. For founders outside the US considering the move, come spend a summer. See if it fits. Some will return home energized. Others will never leave.

I've seen both. Neither is wrong.

Originally posted on LinkedIn.