I’m sure many of you have noticed a palpable shift in the sexiness of the startup ecosystem, hey, maybe some of you got involved in startups because of this shift.
Today, the notion of ‘scaling’ a rapidly-evolving-startup today is uber cool. So cool in fact, that today, Silicon Valley and other startups hubs are actually more Hollywood than Hollywood itself.
Don’t believe it? Here are 5 ways how.
1. ‘The side hustle’
It is well known that a large number of aspiring actors are currently keeping their dreams of success afloat with a ‘job’ (likely, in a restaurant) while pursuing the side hustle (acting) until they can go ‘full-time’ on their real careers (acting).
Well, today, the side hustle is owned and dominated by the startup ecosystem – with 39% percent of workers aged 18-24, and 44% of those 25-34, having side hustles involving entrepreneurial endeavours. That’s more side hustles than Hollywood could ever dream of.
And just like it never mattered if you have had a good acting gig because that ‘lucky break’ was and is always just around the corner – it doesn’t matter what your side hustle is, so long as you are disrupting something (preferably an established (and slow-moving) industry).
2. The new ‘actors’
It’s still cool to be a Hollywood actor, no doubt. But it might not be quite as cool as starting and running a $25 billion company at the ripe old age of 30. Today’s entrepreneurs have the cash, the WAGS, and the fast cars to rival or outdo their Hollywood brethren. And the media attention that comes with it all is becoming just as fierce.
Even the real Hollywood actors are jumping on the startup bandwagon: founding their own studios, fragrances, and clothing lines – much to the dismay of founders who lack the ‘brand power’ of the Dwayne The Rock Johnson.
3. BIGGER MONEY. BIGGER STAKES.
VC’s are the new Hollywood studios, on steroids. In recent years, we have witnessed astronomical sums of money being hedged on cool ideas and ‘traction’. In fact, 10 companies have raised over $1 billion in single rounds of funding, which easily outstrip any movie ‘bet’ ever made (Hey VC’s, movies can garner pretty good returns too: 19, 749%).
Meanwhile, IPO’s garner more global attention and media excitement than any movie release, while the investor portfolio – much like the Hollywood studios – is more reliant than ever on the tentpole strategy.
4. The hubs
While Beverly Hills and the Hollywood Hills are still very much hubs of attention, celebrity, and expensive property in their own right, they are beginning to see their crowns slip away and float towards the startup hubs of the world. In fact, Silicon Valley (the most ‘startup-ey’ of startup hubs) now occupies 3 of the top 10 most expensive housing markets in the U.S, with Beverley Hills coming in 3rd behind 1st place Atherton in Palo Alto.
And that doesn’t even begin to describe the scale of these startup communities which are disseminating all over the globe. While startup ‘hubs’ used to be a place for nerds and geeks, they are now a place for the grossly rich, oh so famous.. and plenty of geeks, still.
5. The attention
Some of the most popular people, books, podcasts, TV shows, and movies of recent times are based solely on startups, entrepreneurialism and the founders.
We now have Hollywood movies about Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg and the founding of McDonald’s; award-winning TV shows like Shark Tank and Silicon Valley; as well as more documentaries, podcasts and books about ‘how to start a startup’ than anyone could possibly shake a stick at (13 of the best TV shows and films about startups for your viewing pleasure).
It is pretty evident that the startup ecosystem has grown considerably in popularity, influence, and general Hollywood-ness. A heavy slice of popular culture is shifting towards the lives and exploits of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups.
Startups, in the media and all around the world, are totally #trending. While Hollywood is still a heavyweight when it comes to big money, big celebrities, big bets, and big personas, major startup ecosystems around the world – for better or for worse – are more Hollywood than Hollywood.
Lance Hodgson has helped scale start-ups and established corporations in both the U.S. (including Hollywood) and Australia. Lance is currently a marketer and mentoring evangelist at Mentorloop, the mentoring software platform that helps organisations run better mentoring programs more efficiently – and is currently enjoying making mentoring mainstream.