http://www.cnbc.com/id/28892911
Tim O’Reilly stood onstage in cargo pants, unshaven, a lumpy jacket sagging off his shoulders, and tried to rally about a thousand A-list tech players at a swanky San Francisco conference called the Web 2.0 Summit. In the audience sat many of the same entrepreneurs and venture capitalists who got financially walloped nearly a decade ago when the likes of Pets.com, Webvan, and Flooz circled the drain.
Sure, the economy stinks, O’Reilly acknowledged. But “many of our great companies did not start because there was a big pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” he preached. “I feel like we’re at one of those inflection points where there are enormous problems to be solved—enormous opportunities.”
We should all be thankful that in the worst of times, a certain Silicon Valley breed remains undaunted, even a touch oblivious. I asked entrepreneur and angel investor Marc Andreessen whether the economic meltdown makes conditions horrible or favorable for starting a technology company. “It’s a great time to launch a high-quality startup and a terrible time to launch a low-quality startup—but then, that’s always true,” he replied in an email. He added a smiley face.
Much of America is looking at the economy with apprehension, terrified of seeing the return of breadlines or, worse, generic beer. Yet somebody will eventually have to lead the way out. Silicon Valley stands at the ready. If you want to find a ray of optimism, don’t look to Detroit, New York, or Washington. Instead, parachute into Palo Alto.