Wensing, M.

Not only are the market applications for disruptive technologies unknown at the time of their development, they are unknowable.

We want to be Austin. There are lots of things about Silicon Valley that we like and can learn from, and probably some things we don’t like that we can also learn from. Some of the best things about Silicon Valley include the spirit of innovation and taking risks. Austin is pretty good in that area but still has room for improvement. We also want to continue to attract top talent and top companies to move here. I want to live in a place that is growing and getting better. On an absolute scale, Silicon Valley or (New York) may be way above Austin in many respects. But they are already at the top of their game; they aren’t improving dramatically year over year. I’d rather be in a place that is rapidly growing and improving. I like to be able to influence that change and it gets me excited about the things to come. In an established leader like Silicon Valley it can be hard to get noticed. In a growing and changing environment like Austin there is a lot of opportunity created for new people and new ideas to stick out and get noticed.

Austin doesn’t want to be the next Silicon Valley any more than Texas wants to be the next California.

[W]e should develop and promote a more deliberate practice of discovering passions worth pursuing and problems worth solving in a less haphazard way. This effort would certainly not be easy or clear from the onset, and it may require fundamental changes to our educational system in addition to our configuration as a community. But without it, institutions like YC and its Startup School will likely continue receiving and channeling ever-more entrepreneurs who may be well-versed in tactics but who lack anchoring values that drive their efforts. And that will be a shame not only for those individuals but the investors and customers who await the fruits of their labor, which otherwise could have amounted to so much more.