In Silicon Valley, the 2nd graders are talking about tech companies before they talk about U.S. History (my cousins) If you aren't in Silicon Valley or a similar tech hub, you won't be able to network as effectively (face-to-face with people you know and people you don't know). I think sites like hotornot.com would not have been successful had they been launched without the founder's network (and location which is almost the same thing) - critical mass builds quickly with the right network.