California upstart
The Golden State continues to be fertile ground for tech enterprise and innovation
BY BRUCE FARR
I N LATE 2008, when Jason Schmidt decided to uproot his life in New York City and move to California, he reasoned that the course of his career as a young technology entrepreneur could be vastly enriched in the Golden State’s fertile tech environment. He wasn’t mistaken. With some hindsight, Schmidt—now 54, and living and working in the San Francisco Bay area— can be regarded as a quintessential model for the many thousands of young technology-focused professionals who, over the past several decades, migrated to California from all over the U.S. and virtually every corner of the globe. Today, he is firmly ensconced in the ambience and culture of the state, with its focus on vision, diversity and innovation. Among many other superlatives, California has come to lead the world in its remarkable density of technology firms.
Where it all started Schmidt was drawn to California at precisely the time the state was burnishing its reputation as the country’s—and even the world’s—most prolific developer and operator of technology products, systems and companies. If ever there was a place that could be called “home to tech,” California was it. Countless companies that now dominate the global digital landscape had their beginnings in California garages and basements, in the hands and minds of visionary tech tinkerers. Going back to 1939 (almost prehistoric in the lightning-like pace of technology innovation), Hewlett-Packard got its start in a 12-by-18 foot garage. Likewise, in 1976, Apple Computer Inc. was founded in a similar space by two college dropouts. Schmidt was steeped in those archetypal stories and realized the importance of location in emerging technology. “I started my company in New York,” he
“I wanted to bring [my company] into the environment of other technology companies, and learn myself about how they grow and scale their technology in the best possible way toward success. This [Silicon Valley] was the absolute best place to do that.” Jason Schmidt, Tech entrepreneur
8
IN YOUR CORNER ISSUE 17 | 2024
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker