There is a nice podcast out there where Bob Walsh and Patrick Foley talk about entrepreneurs and small businesses. In the last episode Bob predicts that developers will work in ‘many many millions of small enterprises’. Conventional work in cubicles will be left to developing countries and won’t exist in developed countries. I understand this position if you live in sunny California and pretend to be a thought leader of some kind but let’s be honest:
- It’s cheaper to live, to start and to fail in developing countries.
- Computers are cheap and internet is everywhere, there is no reason to be in California to get it.
- Most likely you won’t require venture capital either.
- Users’ demography is changing, and chances are that most of them will be from the developing countries.
I would say that ‘many many millions of small enterprises’ will be located right in the developing countries. The real advantage of the US programmer is its location. If you have to meet with clients or attend company meetings location is important; so welcome to the cubicle…
Dizzy Mind 