People in Texas have been hearing for years that Austin is the place in Texas for technology, but what about one of the top tech places to be in the country?  The panel “Ditch the Valley, Run for the Hills” covered a healthy discussion of why people with start-ups in mind should look at Silicon Hills instead of Silicon Valley. The panel included people who have successfully started internet companies and they gave their reasons on why Austin is a good place to settle along with debating the advantages of settling in an area such as Silicon Valley.  Austin was highlighted positively for areas such as cost of living, good schools for children and the stability of local government (some panelists commented that California’s government is on the verge of bankruptcy).

Among the panelist were Kaiser Kuo of Youku.com who gave us the international perspective being from China, and Penelope Trunk who is dealing with a startup in Madison, Wisconsin. The two panelists gave the audience much to debate over and stood out with their views on the industry and if there truly is a best place to settle. The other panelists including: John Metcalf, Mike Maples and Robert Scoble, brought their experience and insight to the ever-changing technology industry with helpful advice given to the interested crowd.  An interesting note to the panel was the attitude of questions that unconsciously agreed on Silicon Valley as still the best place for startups with their rich talent pool of developers that they compared to the “weak” talent pool of Austin. Whatever the case may be between the two areas, Austin still has BBQ.