Silicon Valley Is a State of Mind, Can Be Anywhere: Vinod Khosla

Observing that Silicon Valley is not so much a place as a state of mind, Indian-American billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla believes it can be created anywhere by out of the box thinking.

"Silicon Valley is not so much a place as a state of mind. It's a way of doing things that can be done anywhere. The reason it is hard to do that outside the Silicon Valley is because all the re-enforcement you get outside of Silicon Valley is from the people who do not understand the Silicon Valley mindset," Khosla said.

"To replicate what's done in the (Silicon) Valley, and I believe truly, it can be done anywhere; you have to select your circle of mentors, advisors, conversations differently," Khosla said in a rare interaction with the visiting group of 27 Indian startup executives who are currently on a week-long trip to the US sponsored by Nasscom.

Sharing his personal experience, Khosla said he is never afraid of failing and never embarrassed of failing.

"My willingness to fail most likely gives me the ability to succeed," he said. "Most entrepreneurs, good entrepreneurs are just not afraid to fail," he said, adding that the ability to think outside the box is the Silicon Valley mindset.

When asked why are big companies - like Google and Facebook - not coming up in India, he said this is because people are trying to do reasonable things.

"Only entrepreneurs who are unrealistic and naive actually attempt unreasonable things," Khosla said. "You do not change the world by doing ordinary things or reasonable things. They have already been attempted," Khosla said.

Noting that the initial team of any start up is key to the success, Khosla said, he has seldom seen entrepreneurs from India paying enough attention to the people they hire initially.

"That's the reason why, many (Indian entrepreneurs) are successful, but not hugely successful, because they haven't built the tool to expand," he said.

Khosla advised Indian entrepreneurs to be close to their market and not just move to the Silicon Valley just for the sake of it. He also advised them to keep the startup attitude as long as they can.