The Network Effects of Where You Build

• Location is a network effect, not just a lifestyle choice.
  • Startups are nodes seeking to bond investors, talent, and press.
  • Preferential attachment: early momentum compounds into unfair advantage.
• SF captured >70% of all US AI funding in 2024.
  • Engineering density + startup-mindset talent pool unmatched elsewhere.
  • Information flows through osmosis; you learn by proximity.
• Well-connected seed investors double your odds of reaching Series A.
  • Warm intros, signal transfer, and co-investor pull are local goods.
• “Network gravity” kicks in at critical mass — recruiting becomes inbound.
• Objections (culture fit, distraction, cost) are temporary; compounding is permanent.
  • Authors frame relocation as a math decision, not a lifestyle one.
• Recommendation: move to your industry’s center of gravity early, before Series A.

Anna Piñol, Pete Flint (NFX, ex-Trulia founder), Valerie Osband Mahoney — NFX, Apr 2025 · 2025-04-24 · Read on nfx.com