Silicon Valley, the world's leading place for high-tech innovation and development, has been home to many of the world's largest technology corporations since the 1940's. Several generations of start-ups to exit companies which have generated huge amounts of revenue have led to investors re-investing due to its success. It is therefore no surprise that it has the most advanced world tech ecosystem packed full of investors on the constant look out for new investments and a very high success rate.
In Europe we don't have the same ecosystem as they do in Silicon Valley and the rest of the US and gaining investment isn't always easy. In the US you can get investment pre-revenue whereas in the UK this is much harder. Our investments are often funded through the banking system - meaning those investing need solid business plans and proof of revenue, where as those in the US, due to its successful past, gaining investment is much easier.
Businesses in the UK that do gain investment also don't have the same success rate as they do in Silicon Valley. I think this is partly due to the fact that people in the UK invest money in to things they don't necessarily understand. In the US, this isn't done and people tend to only invest in products they have expertise in. Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder of Skype, believes in this theory too, stating in a TechCrunch Disrupt that it is often not about the idea but about the founders and how they implement the idea.
Since there are more investors than there are good ideas in Silicon Valley, investors are now starting to look further afield to the rest of the US, London and even the rest of Europe, which is great news for those in this country.
I therefore believe this is the time for British people to shine and for the UK's tech ecosystem to really develop. Currently, the majority of worldwide leading apps, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have all come out of the US with little for Britain to show for itself. British web developers and app creators should really take advantage of this abundance of available cash, stop worrying about potential investment opportunities and start getting creative. Not only will a few big successes really put the UK on the technology map but it will boost our tech-ecosystem and may even create more job opportunities.
The general problem with the vast growth of money available for investing and the way in which quick investments can be made has the potential for negative cycles. With the culture as it currently is, there is success, more money becomes available and then more investment happens - a positive cycle. The problem will come if investments start to fail investors will start to lose faith, reducing the amount of investment in the future, becoming a negative cycle.
In summary, although the people of Silicon Valley do want to bring other countries and consequently new people and ideas in to the equation by injecting money in to new ventures throughout the rest of the world. We don't know how long this will last for as it will largely be dependent on the success of these new companies. It is therefore time for UK developers to prove what they have got and put forward any ideas that they truly see taking off and know how to implement with right funding.