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I've met a lot of hard working black tech entrepreneurs and very few of them are finding easy access to capital and angel funding to get their ideas off the ground compared to their peers with the "right pattern."
Are they trying to find their footing in the Bay Area? I imagine anyone would have an issue getting off the ground in the local market. Not sure why people are so intent on always staying in the Bay Area anyway. I mean there is Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, North Carolina, hell even much of the midwest. Places that are cheaper to do business in, far more business friendly, a lot more diversified, and most importantly, there is an actual market. I would imagine anyone trying to get a business off the ground would struggle in the Bay Area, no matter what race. Even tons of companies with VC dollars behind it fail pretty often.
If you truly believe that if Sergey Brin and Larry Page were Cal State East Bay grads or only attended community college that they'd be in the same exact position they are in today, I guess I don't have much to say to you, since you'll believe whatever fantasy land ideas you want; like tech being the ultimate meritocracy.
It's great that you've found the success you have, but your story is definitely the exception, not the rule.
Well, yes and no. Tech has its share of students from elite schools but also a fair share of people from the beaten path.
Consider this: a guy who went to U of Nebraska and dropped out after 1.5 years, he would never be a top dog in the tech industry, right? That's pretty far removed from a Larry Page, right?
Similarly, a guy who went to Northeastern (not Northwestern) and also dropped out; would find it impossible to make it to the top in tech, right?
Except that, they did. They founded Twitter.
Personally, I won't write off the possibility that some day, a Cal State East Bay grad could be the next Larry Page.
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Are they trying to find their footing in the Bay Area? I imagine anyone would have an issue getting off the ground in the local market. Not sure why people are so intent on always staying in the Bay Area anyway. I mean there is Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, North Carolina, hell even much of the midwest. Places that are cheaper to do business in, far more business friendly, a lot more diversified, and most importantly, there is an actual market. I would imagine anyone trying to get a business off the ground would struggle in the Bay Area, no matter what race. Even tons of companies with VC dollars behind it fail pretty often.
You need to be in the Bay for your tech company. Almost. A lot of the core resources are structured here. And even with our decline in funding ratios we still get 50% of VC money. But sadly, blacks lag behind in access to all types of capital from SBA loans to everything in between. The group I am in disengage branches in other regions and they all want to come here. Even for regular short visits to build the network. It is hard to get off the ground without the silicon valley groundswell. And VCs provide more than money. They provide connections. Not all businesses need them but you might.
Well, yes and no. Tech has its share of students from elite schools but also a fair share of people from the beaten path.
Consider this: a guy who went to U of Nebraska and dropped out after 1.5 years, he would never be a top dog in the tech industry, right? That's pretty far removed from a Larry Page, right?
Similarly, a guy who went to Northeastern (not Northwestern) and also dropped out; would find it impossible to make it to the top in tech, right?
Except that, they did. They founded Twitter.
Personally, I won't write off the possibility that some day, a Cal State East Bay grad could be the next Larry Page.
.
Have you been inside a classroom at Cal State East Bay or a community college recently? I can guarantee you the demographics of either doesn't even come close to resembling one at the University of Nebraska or a private school in Boston. A lot of these students are first generation college students, let alone first generation American. I work in higher education and it's not an equal playing field. Not even close.
You need to be in the Bay for your tech company. Almost. A lot of the core resources are structured here. And even with our decline in funding ratios we still get 50% of VC money. But sadly, blacks lag behind in access to all types of capital from SBA loans to everything in between. The group I am in disengage branches in other regions and they all want to come here. Even for regular short visits to build the network. It is hard to get off the ground without the silicon valley groundswell. And VCs provide more than money. They provide connections. Not all businesses need them but you might.
This is propaganda. You don't need to be in the Bay to own a tech company. Unless you're trying to be a certain type of tech company. There are tech workers all over the country who are smart and talented. As far as VC money hoes, yeah you aren't get a lot of that in other places. But you honestly don't need it anyway because there is less hassle in doing business all the way around. Silicon Valley isn't nearly as ripe as it once was. You simply have too many pro business cities in the sunbelt for anyone to be wasting their time trying to get ahead in the Bay. I personally am just here for the experience, which is what Silicon Valley is good for. Other than that I'll take my experience and expertise elsewhere. I've been around the country so I know what options are out there
It's a damn shame that too many minorities in the Bay have been drinking the cool aid that the Bay Area is the only place to do business. Or it's the only place where you can find your resources. The south is literally waiting for it's next breakout tech company. The reason why there hasn't been one is due to the fact no one is trying to start a business in the south. There have been breakout tech companies out in the NorthEast as well. The idea that you need to be on Silicon Valley to have a tech company is myth. I'm sure the municipalities all around the Bay would love for people to believe that.
Have you been inside a classroom at Cal State East Bay or a community college recently? I can guarantee you the demographics of either doesn't even come close to resembling one at the University of Nebraska or a private school in Boston. A lot of these students are first generation college students, let alone first generation American. I work in higher education and it's not an equal playing field. Not even close.
Are you trying to say that tech is biased against first generation college students?
That's one of the strangest assertions I've ever heard.
I've been inside several CSUS classrooms, there are bright students there. Unlike you, I won't write them off.
If you truly believe that if Sergey Brin and Larry Page were Cal State East Bay grads or only attended community college that they'd be in the same exact position they are in today, I guess I don't have much to say to you, since you'll believe whatever fantasy land ideas you want; like tech being the ultimate meritocracy.
It's great that you've found the success you have, but your story is definitely the exception, not the rule.
So now you're stereotyping Cal State students?
Nice
Did you know that Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Pomona are both Cal State campuses? Did you know that many of their alum work in tech firms in Silicon Valley?
Quote:
Originally Posted by 04kL4nD Have you been inside a classroom at Cal State East Bay or a community college recently? I can guarantee you the demographics of either doesn't even come close to resembling one at the University of Nebraska or a private school in Boston. A lot of these students are first generation college students, let alone first generation American. I work in higher education and it's not an equal playing field. Not even close.
So, what are the actual student demographics of University of Nebraska (there are two campuses)? Or, are you stereotyping it in your mind because it's in the Midwest?
And please tell me why you think "first generation" Americans can't make it in tech? Have you ever actually been to Silicon Valley or are you just pontificating from your quasi-intellectual perch there in Oakland where everyone hates tech, hates the idea of meritocracy, hates success and hates the white male?
Do yourself a favor Mr. North Carolina Transplant Living in Oakland and take a trip south down the 880 and see how many "first generation" Americans there are working in Silicon Valley before making another outlandish remark like that!
Last edited by kttam186290; 12-18-2013 at 11:14 AM..
It's not like schooling matters that much in tech anyway. Unless you just want to play the paper mill game, majority companies don't even ask about your degrees. The only thing the school and degree is good for is to get good placement outside of school. You can make it without degrees or degrees from lower tier schools. The thing about computer science, it's usually not a very useful measurement of ability.
When you're working with tech from day to day, business, and the pressure, school doesn't prepare you for those things. The field of technology is very informal in many ways. Most hiring managers just want someone to get in there and make stuff work. Schools really don't teach you that.
There is a big disconnect between the real world and schools right now. Most CS curriculums are not very practical. Unless you want to be some type of open source developer. Developers have gotten a lot worse over the years, despite being better educated. Back in the days when computers only had 2 megabytes of RAM, developers had to write better and efficient code. These days, developers on average are working with gigs of ram. So they write pretty crappy code, and it's not exposed (until trying to integrate it with other software and systems). Architects are following suit. They're designing software that is complex and unsupportable.
But yeah, the who debate over schooling needs to stop. You can read a book and learn just as much as a college grad knows. And I'm not even kidding on that.
The whole "tech people need to interact with their community" or "they're snobby when they sit in the coffee shops" stuff is nonsense to me, honestly. People have a right to choose who they interact with and how they interact, and they have a right to pursue their professions and make the money they wish to make. It's a personal choice.
You've actually touched on a good point - how much interaction with the community at large? That discussion should be extended to economic linkages as well.
Compared with a manufacturing operation, tech companies have relatively few local downstream suppliers locally. That's because of the nature of the business (services based); a Google or Facebook isn't going to need suppliers of sheet metal, glass, rubber, electronic modules, mechanical parts like GM/Toyota's NUMMI plant (now Tesla). And Apple's goods are manufactured overseas so the suppliers aren't in the local area.
You'll get some economic activity generated by the spending of the tech workers with disposable income - in retail, dining, real estate, but my guess is that it generates relatively less economic activity and often at lower wage rates than a manufacturing job at a supplier. That may be a factor in the widening levels of economic inequality in the area and the nation as a whole - that's an adverse effect of the economy shifting more to a services-based economy (and you see this phenomenon in NYC too).
Are you trying to say that tech is biased against first generation college students?
That's one of the strangest assertions I've ever heard.
I've been inside several CSUS classrooms, there are bright students there. Unlike you, I won't write them off.
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Believe whatever you want. If you think first generation college students with no connections have EQUAL (meaning the EXACT SAME) access to the opportunities of others who attend elite private universities or even top tier state universities (CSUEB is a perfectly fine school and actually has a good business department, but it's not on the same level as the other two schools is terms of prestige, not even close), you are dead wrong. Tech isn't any different than any other profession. It rewards not only the brightest and the best, but the brightest and the best that have strong networks. Unless they come from wealthy families from other countries, first generation college students are at a much higher risk for dropping out. When students drop out of school, their chances at ANY profession go down even further. I'm not making this up. I've seen it with my own eyes and it happens all the time at public colleges in the Bay Area. You do realize that only 30% of community college students actually end up getting a 4 year degree, right? Where do you think those 30% end up going? Stanford? Give me a break. Most of them wind up at CSUs and the cream of the crop wind up at a UC.
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