Silicon Alley > Silicon Valley?

The prevailing wisdom over the past decade was that if you wanted to throw your hat into the tech startup ring there was only one place to do it - Silicon Valley. By and large this was true. Over the years however, a number of other cities have taken aim at the tech crown, and now people are starting to speculate that New York is the place to be - not Palo Alto.

I only bring this up for one reason. I had a meeting last week with the CEO of Dashlane and the CTO and co-founder of Eventbrite (which handles the ticketing for the WSO Conference). Both companies are headquartered in the US but run all of their tech development out of France (for reasons I'll get to in a minute). Eventbrite is a Silicon Valley company, and Dashlane is a Silicon Alley company.

Eventbrite started in 2006 when Silicon Valley still very much had the upper hand. But they were a company that could have gone either way, because they bootstrapped on founder money until 2008 when they raised $1.5 million in Series A funding. By the time they did the raise, the business model was proven - so they could've gotten funded anywhere. In 2010 they raised another $10 million and are looking at doing $1 billion in ticket sales this year.

Dashlane, on the other hand, is relatively new to the party. They did an $8 million initial raise based on little more than a prototype (but it's a kick ass prototype), and the decision to base their headquarters in New York was a no brainer for them. Knowing that their tech guys were going to be based in Paris, they could actually work with the team in New York whereas they'd all be clocking out just as the California crew was clocking in.

Additionally, the venture capital climate in New York is less...well...crunchy than it is in the Valley. You can actually raise capital in New York without completing an early-morning triathlon before your pitch or chugging wheatgrass by the gallon while you go over your term sheet. In New York it's still about money and not how many of the cool kids you hang out with.

"Five years ago, if you wanted to move people to New York, they had to ask the question, 'Is this career suicide? If I move to New York and I take a job at Etsy, will I be able to get a job (later)? Is there a start-up scene in New York?'" Elliott-McCrea said. "And we've answered that question, and everybody knows about the tech scene in New York. So that piece is easier."

So why base your tech team in Paris of all places? Simple - money. You can hire developers here for half what you'd have to pay them in either New York or California. Plus you don't have to worry about poaching here. Talent is such a premium in New York and Silicon Valley that good developers can pretty much write their own ticket. Here, not so much.

It's interesting to watch the New York tech scene develop. The city never tried to duplicate Silicon Valley and it's a good thing - New York has its own way of doing things and in a lot of ways it's better.

By the way, if you're not using Dashlane you should really check it out. It's like LastPass on steroids. I have no earthly idea how they're going to monetize it (it's currently free), but Emmanuel Schalit isn't too worried about it. Which is one way New York VCs are a lot like their California counterparts - you can still find a lot of them that take the, "If you build it they will come." view.

Anyway, are you New York guys running into more tech types in the bars? I realize most of the startup action is going on in the boroughs right now, but they still have to come to town for meetings.

Here's a cool interactive infographic courtesy UNC Business School that breaks it down:

Via MBA@UNC: Top Online MBA

Can New York overtake Silicon Valley as the startup capital of America?