I always wonder if such commenters have ever lived in or even visited SV or SF. I liken it to occasional comments I've heard that the Bay Area has a thriving entertainment scene. These people have clearly never lived in LA. Until you've lived in a hub for Industry X, you really have no idea how thoroughly Industry X can saturate you and seep into your brain by osmosis. It seems like everyone in Silicon Valley is in on a deal or a startup. In LA, people talk about "the industry" without explanation—everyone knows which industry they're talking about.
If you want your tech startup to have the best chances of success, there's no substitute for moving to the Bay Area. That's only one axis on which to optimize, of course, and there's more to life than maximizing the value of your company. But anyone who thinks that the Madison (etc.) startup scene is a reasonable substitute for the Bay Area needs to get on an airplane tout de suite and hang out in Palo Alto, Mountain View, or SOMA for a week. Believe me, it'll blow their mind.
If you want your tech startup to have the best chances of success, there's no substitute for moving to the Bay Area. That's only one axis on which to optimize, of course, and there's more to life than maximizing the value of your company. But anyone who thinks that the Madison (etc.) startup scene is a reasonable substitute for the Bay Area needs to get on an airplane tout de suite and hang out in Palo Alto, Mountain View, or SOMA for a week. Believe me, it'll blow their mind.