伦敦能成为下一个硅谷吗

    很多志向远大的创业者仍然对硅谷向往不已，但伦敦正在努力打造有利于创业公司的环境。周一，在伦敦举行的《财富》（Fortune）最具影响力女性会议上，伦敦科技城（Tech City）CEO乔安娜•希尔兹、加速合伙公司（Accel Partners）的索娜丽•德里克和Facebook的全球营销副总裁卡罗琳•艾弗森讨论了这座名城与科技行业的关系，以及该市采取了哪些措施来打造适合创业者的伦敦版湾区。

    希尔兹在这两座城市停留了同样长的时间（都是14年），她真诚地认为伦敦将成为下一个硅谷。她说，伦敦由遍及城市各处的科技集群组成，每个集群都拥有各自的优势，而不是所有的创业者都集中在一个庞大的地区。这种集群模式把来自周边生态系统的律师、会计师、银行家和其他专业人士汇聚到了一起。

    德里克说，硅谷不只是创新中心。“创业与达到临界规模之间有很大区别，”她说，因此创业者必须处于适合他们需求的行业集群。德里克接着说：“人们到集群去寻找人才。”硅谷还为开发者提供了很多的机会和很多的潜在雇主，薪酬很快就会增长到过高的程度。另外，政府等权力机构、移民政策和风险资本的可获得性使几个不同的城市吸引了不同的创业者。

    伦敦的目标是仿效硅谷的信条，即成功不只是一种可能性，还是一种权利。希尔兹说，她已经看到伦敦的创业者们在向这种精神转变。她首次搬到国外时，她的员工对股票期权不屑一顾。他们想要养老金。但现在她笑着说，如今他们都想成为下一个马克•扎克伯格。

    虽然每个人都想创建下一个热门的创业公司，但德里克说，硅谷对技术的痴迷对其他城市而言未必是良方。这种痴迷使硅谷获得了优势，但她似乎对这种模式的可持续性心存疑虑（但她明确表示，她并不是说硅谷已死）。希尔兹为美国大公司的贪婪本性鼓掌叫好。她解释说，这是因为他们依靠创业者来进行创新。她说：“新想法带来的能量能够彻底改变一家公司，让人们踏上一条新的道路。”她希望欧洲企业留意伦敦科技集群里的小公司。

    伦敦从美国的一系列创业成功故事中吸取了经验，但有时硅谷的方法并不是那么适合拿来己用。艾弗森今年1月份搬到伦敦，为Facebook的欧洲、中东和亚洲业务寻找下任总裁。因为希尔兹此前辞去了这个职务，成为科技城的CEO，结果立刻被国外对这个社交网站的看法弄得吃惊不已。她说：“在国外，我们不清楚Facebook对营销人员意味着什么。”客户告诉艾弗森，Facebook的演示不够人性化，这促使她与门洛•帕克取得联系，调整公司的品牌策略。她对听众们说：“我们在品牌方面已经做了很多工作。”她把策略的转变归功于她搬到伦敦。

    然后，这位Facebook高管分享了她获得的一些最佳建议：走进房间时，把自己想象成一个恒温调节器，按照需要调高或调低温度。伦敦在科技界扮演的似乎就是这样一个角色，只从硅谷模式中吸取它喜欢的东西。（财富中文网）

    译者：千牛絮

    Though many aspiring entrepreneurs still adore Silicon Valley, London is working to create its very own supportive environment for fledgling companies. London's Tech City CEO Joanna Shields, Accel Partners' Sonali De Rycker, and Facebook (FB) global marketing VP Carolyn Everson discussed the famed city's relationship with the tech ¬industry and what it's doing to create a version of the Bay Area that works for its founders at a Fortune Most Powerful Women meeting in London on Monday.

    Shields has spent an equal amount of time in both cities (14 years each) and doesn't pretend that London is the next Silicon Valley. London is composed of tech clusters across the city, each with its various strengths, rather than one large location where all entrepreneurs congregate. Such a cluster model brings together ¬lawyers, accountants, bankers, and other professionals from the surrounding ecosystem, she said.

    Silicon Valley isn't the only innovation hub, De Rycker added. "There's a big difference between starting a company vs. getting to critical mass." At that point, she said, entrepreneurs need to locate in an industry cluster ¬that suits their needs. "People go to clusters for talent," De Rycker continued. In Silicon Valley, there's so much activity and so many potential employers for developers, that salary costs can quickly grow prohibitive. Also, enabling institutions ¬like government, immigration policies, and access venture capital -make several different cities appealing to different founders.

    London aims to emulate Silicon Valley's philosophy ¬that success is not just a possibility but also a prerogative. Shields said she's seen London entrepreneurs shift more towards that ethos. When she first moved abroad, her employees scoffed at stock options. They wanted pensions. She laughed, saying today that they all want to be the next Mark Zuckerberg.

    Though everyone wants to found the next hot startup, De Rycker said that Silicon Valley's undiluted obsession with tech is not necessarily the right recipe for other cities. That focus gives the Valley an edge, but she seemed wary of the sustainability of that model. (Though, she clarified, she is not saying Silicon Valley is dead.) Shields did applaud large American companies' acquisitive nature, explaining that they look to entrepreneurs for innovation. "The energy that comes in with a new idea can completely transform a business and lead you on a new trajectory," she explained, encouraging European companies to take notice of the small companies growing in London's tech clusters.

    London may have learned from America's streak of entrepreneurial successes, but sometimes the Silicon Valley way doesn't translate so well. Everson moved to London in January to search for Facebook's next president of its European, Middle East, and Asian business. ¬Shields stepped down from the position to head Tech City ¬and was immediately surprised by the way the social network was perceived abroad. "Externally, we didn't have a clear articulation of what Facebook meant for marketers," she said. Clients told Everson that Facebook's presentations weren't humanizing, which led her to get in touch with Menlo Park and refocus the company's branding. "There's been a lot of work on the brand," she told the audience, crediting her move to London with her changed approach.

    The Facebook exec then shared some of the best advice she's ever received: When you walk into a room, think of yourself like a thermostat; dial it up and down as needed. As London's presence in the tech world grows, it seems to be doing just that, taking only what it likes from the Silicon Valley model.