So Many ideas, so few companies

So Many Ideas, So Few Companies

By ESTHER DYSON

Outsiders revere Silicon Valley as some kind of secular miracle: money plus ideas equals profits, which turn into ever more money plus ideas. Many players in the Valley, who have never seen a real business cycle, think they've finally found the formula for perpetual growth.
Other countries and regions are desperately trying to figure out how to create their own Silicon (Geographical Feature here). Hungary is trying to sponsor a Silicon
Park near the Danube -- but will it find the requisite entrepreneurs to fill it up? Silicon Valley is a wonderful example of the dynamism and fluidity of a successful market -- where resources flow friction-free to the best people and ideas.
But our fascination with the market may be overblown. We need new companies, not just new ideas. Like people, companies tend to get tired and inflexible as they age. We need a steady supply of companies that not only develop and exploit new markets but also bring a fresh spirit to the business world (as Apple, Microsoft et al. have done in this era).
Freedom is great, but so is the commitment to seeing a product through to customer
hands, developing a cohesive team and molding a group of workers into a company.