Innovation and the brotherhood of the Valley

Innovation and the brotherhood of the Valley:

Touring Silicon Valley and meeting with the area’s leaders, you see almost immediately that there is an hierarchy similar to a university class structure or a fraternity. There are the fraternity presidents or upperclassmen — established companies that have achieved both financial success and critical acclaim. In the middle are the junior and sophomore treasurers and secretaries — companies that are recovering from an initial spurt of funding and press attention, wondering how best to capi­tal­ize on their new-found fame. And then there are the freshmen pledges — start-ups that are struggling through the rigorous hazing period with or without the guidance of an emerging upperclassman via seed money, angel investment or free advice.

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