San Francisco - The Buzz is Back

I’m in San Francisco for the Inman Conference, and it feels very good to be back in town. I lived here from 1999-2003 – it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. I’ve been back to SF on many occasions over the last few years, but I must say that something feels different this time.

Maybe it’s that the sun is shining in downtown San Francisco (a rarity). But there’s a palpable difference in the air this time around. It’s clear that San Francisco is buzzing with life, and that startups are again alive and well. Suddenly I have more friends than ever living here again (many had vanished from 03-06, returning to the East Coast to the comfort and safety of graduate school or investment banking). The restaurants and hotels are full. There are people wearing funny costumes passing stuff out on the street to promote their latest startups. Internet companies are fighting to keep employees with ever grander perks (“I heard that Company XYZ’s shuttle down to The Valley is a stretch Hummer”). It’s hard to get a taxi. And there’s finally traffic again on the ultimate barometer of the health of the Bay Area economy –the 280 freeway which connects San Francisco and Silicon Valley. From 2001-2004, you could play tennis on that freeway in the middle of the day.

Some would say that all of this buzz means we’re headed for another fall. I don’t think that’s right (and I’ll write more about this topic later). But in the meantime, here’s my recommendation: come visit San Francisco, because there’s a lot going on here. Once again, this is an exciting hotbed of innovation.