Paul Graham: Move to SF to Raise Ambitions
Retweet highlights cultural exposure as key advantage for deep tech founders considering San Francisco.
Entities: Paul Graham, Nicolas Dessaigne
Paul Graham amplified a firsthand account of a deep tech founder weighing relocation to San Francisco. The core argument is that the move supplies more than fundraising access; it immerses founders in an environment that raises personal ambitions and normalizes higher risk tolerance. Commenters note these cultural elements prove difficult for other regions to copy through funding incentives or policy alone. No further developments or official statements are recorded in the packet.
When I was in Paris recently, I had breakfast with a deep tech founder who was debating wether to move to SF. He wanted to improve his odds at fundraising. That's the wrong framing. Capital matters but the biggest benefit in coming to SF is to raise your ambitions. You are the average of the people you surround yourself with. In SF, the people surrounding you are attempting things that would sound insane in Paris. I've watched it happen to founder after founder, and it happened to me too. Put yourself somewhere you're no longer the most ambitious person in the room!
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1 postThese cultural dynamics (raising ambition, embracing risk) are infinitely harder to replicate by other ecosystems that try to emulate Silicon Valley with the low hanging fruits (funding, universities etc) and top down policies (taxes etc)
When I was in Paris recently, I had breakfast with a deep tech founder who was debating wether to move to SF. He wanted to improve his odds at fundraising. That's the wrong framing. Capital matters but the biggest benefit in coming to SF is to raise your ambitions. You are the average of the people you surround yourself with. In SF, the people surrounding you are attempting things that would sound insane in Paris. I've watched it happen to founder after founder, and it happened to me too. Put yourself somewhere you're no longer the most ambitious person in the room!
Reactions from the X community
@dessaigne The most valuable thing you can import from Silicon Valley isn't venture capital—it's a new baseline for what's possible. Once your standards change, it's hard to think small again. Have you ever experienced that?