By just about any metric, Silicon Valley business is on a roll. Stock prices at all-time highs, hiring extremely strong, VC funding boosting startups all over the place.
But could it be better? Yes, according to many small businesses. Says Deborah Perry Piscione, author of "Secrets of Silicon Valley," "We face new taxes, and it's going to be more challenging. With new technology, you can be anywhere and do business."
She has a point. But businesses tell us they come here, and stay here, because of more than just money - they cite talent, opportunity, and of course, lots of startup funding. Nonetheless, it can be frustrating to see other states offer lots of incentives.
Among the states - Texas. It's big, it's rich, and it has Governor Rick Perry, who is in Silicon Valley, wooing CEOs to come to the Lone Star State. For some reason, Governor Perry won't talk to the press about this, so we don't know what he's using as bait.
What we do know, is that he's likely to have only modest succcess. The above factors are growing in places like Texas - and Boston, New York, North Carolina, etc, etc. But they're strongest here, and companies know it.
Among the companies that know it? Dell. The computer giant recently opened a big office and hired dozens of Silicon Valley workers. That's a bit far away from its home base .. in Texas.
Scott tweets from Silicon Valley here: @scottbudman
