Innovation and the brotherhood of the Valley

A Q&A with University of California Berkeley’s School of Information Dean AnnaLee Saxenian, who shed some light on the culture of Silicon Valley as it relates to innovation.

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.