Today, in a podcast I was listening to, a VC investor said you can’t have outsize success as a technology entrepreneur in a city like Atlanta. He argued that the network isn’t as strong, dense, or focused as in San Francisco (SF), so information doesn’t flow as freely. And he gave a bunch of other reasons too.

In his defense, homophily and network distance play a huge role in entrepreneurial success and in success in life for that matter. Being in or close to the right networks that have the right wisdom or resources can accelerate things drastically. But that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed if your circumstances are different.

Technology entrepreneurs can build and achieve outsize success in a place like Atlanta. We have a density of talent (GA Tech, Morehouse, Spellman, Emory, etc.), but the city is more spread out than SF. The capital ecosystem is smaller. And we have fewer people who’ve achieved outsize success in tech than SF has. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. It just means it’s different and likely a bit harder. Any founder who’s willing to put in the extra work, is working on the right idea at the right time, and has a little luck can build a massive company in Atlanta. It’s not easy, but it’s been done before.