As Silicon Valley Reboots, the Geeks Take Charge
The valley is populated with people of various talents, but its essence begins with the software and hardware engineers. They create technology tools that then find investors and users in the marketplace. It is, first and foremost, a high-tech tool shop.
That fundamental truth was forgotten in the boom years. The short-lived dot-coms were just marketing plans lashed to the Internet. They had no technology edge; they were run by marketers and M.B.A.’s. But most of the young companies that survived the crash – and the start-ups that have risen since – are based on innovation and are run by people with deep technical skills.
“The failure rate was highest for the start-ups that were Internet bets on a business model,” said Peter Currie, a partner in the Silicon Valley office of General Atlantic Partners, a venture capital firm. “Others, with a large technology component, have often found a way for the technology and the company to go forward.”
“The short-lived dot-coms were just marketing plans lashed to the Internet” is a great depiction of the various flashes in the pan . . . . .