Startups are hard but if we want to escape the cult of Silicon Valley, we need to put in the effort and make progress without them. It's so strange to me as someone living thousands of miles from California and New York, I know more names of people popular in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and NYC than in my own state. How did that come to be, what can be done to fix it? I believe there is relatively low-hanging fruit that can start making a dent in these problems.

I also don't feel bad for tech talent getting fat off ad revenue. There are alternatives that contribute more to society but you have to be willing to sacrifice for them.