What makes Silicon Valley so successful and unique?

Silicon Valley is a magnet to which numerous talented engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs from overseas flock in search of fame and fast money and to participate enthusiastically in a technological revolution whose impact on mankind will surely surpass the epoch-making European Renaissance and Industrial Revolution of the bygone age.

With the rapid spread of the Internet and the relentless technological innovations generated through it, the information era is truly upon us, profoundly influencing and changing not only our lifestyle, but also the way we work, do business, think and communicate with others.

硅谷成功的原因何在?硅谷为什么如此卓尔不群呢?

硅谷犹如一块磁铁，把许许多多天资聪颖的工程师、科学家、企业家从世界各地吸引到这里。他们来此寻求功名,希望快速致富,积极投身于技术革命,而这场革命给人类带来的影响必将超过昔日具有划时代意义的欧洲文艺复兴运动和产业革命。

因特网的急速普及,因特网引来的势不可挡的技术创新,使我们真正进入了信息时代,因特网深刻地影响并改变着我们的生活、工作、商务、思维、沟通等方式。

It is noteworthy that close to 50% of its skilled manpower, including engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs, come from Asia. Prominent among them are Indians, Chinese and Singaporeans. They include such illustrious names as Vinod Khosla who co-founded Sun Microsystems, Jerry Yang of Yahoo fame and Singaporean Sim Wong Hoo, to name just a few.

Many countries have, or are in the process of creating, their own "Silicon Valley". So far, none has as yet threatened the preeminence of the U.S. prototype. What makes Silicon Valley such a unique entity? I think there are several crucial factors.

First and foremost, it has the largest concentration of brilliant computer professionals and the best supporting services in the world, and easy access to world-class research institutions, like Stanford University, which continually nurture would-be geniuses which the industry needs in order to move forward. Without these advantages, the Valley would be a different place.

值得注意的是,包括工程师、科学家和企业家在内的硅谷地区的技术人员近一半来自亚洲,表现尤为突出的是印度人、中国人和新加坡人，他们中间有声名卓著的升阳微系统创始人之一文诺・考斯拉、雅虎帝国的创始人杨致远以及新加坡的沈望博。

有些国家已有自己的“硅谷”,有些国家正在创建自己的“硅谷”,但是美国正统硅谷的龙头地位并未受到威胁。那么美国硅谷为何如此与众不同呢?我认为有这么几个至关重要的因素。

首先,硅谷拥有全球最密集的优秀电脑专业人才群体和最优秀的支持服务体系，毗邻斯坦福大学这类世界一流的研究机构,这些研究机构源源不断地培养着电脑业赖以发展的明日奇才。若无这些优势,硅谷将面目皆非。

Secondly, it actively encourages, or even exalts, risk-taking. Hence, failure holds no terror and there is no stigma attached to a failed effort. On the contrary, they will try even harder next time round. Such never-say-die approach is the sine qua non for the ultimate triumph in entrepreneurship and technological breakthrough.

A third decisive factor is the vital role of venture capitalists who willingly support promising start-ups with urgently needed initial capital to get them started. Some would even give failed entrepreneurs a second chance if convinced that a fresh concept might lead to eventual success.

It is a common practice for start-ups to offer generous share options to employees in order to attract the right talent into their folds. This is a powerful incentive to motivate the staff to do their utmost and to share in the company's prosperity if it reaches its goal. Many regard this as the foundation of a successful enterprise.

其次,硅谷积极提倡甚至极力赞颂冒险精神,失败并不可怕;出师不捷无人耻笑,失败反而使人再接再厉,加倍奋斗。这种永不言败的作风是企业成功和技术创新必不可缺的条件。

第三,风险投资公司起了重要的作用,风险投资者愿意支持那些前途看好的创业者,给予他们急需的启动资金,帮助他们起步。对于曾遭遇过失败的企业,有些风险投资者甚至只要确认企业的新观念能带来最终的成功,也会给予二次投资。

创业公司为了将合适的人才收入自己的麾下,通常向企业员工转让数量可观的股票。这一有力的激励措施旨在鼓励员工为公司尽心尽职，共同分享公司成功的成果。许多人认为参股的做法是企业成功的基础。