What are some tips for building a successful startup outside of Silicon Valley? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Kevin Bennett, CEO of MotoRefi, on Quora:

Startups are built outside the Valley every day. The biggest challenge is often lack of density, in that it can be an uphill battle to find the right investors and talent. You can overcome these gaps in a few different ways:

It's important to be tuned in to your local start-up network. Knowing your local landscape re: pockets of talent, investors, etc can be helpful. A pool of talented engineers or local VCs can go a long way towards getting your start-up off the ground. Be thoughtful about the problem you're trying to solve and the connectivity with your location. Some areas are better situated for different types of industry. For example, if your start-up is media, LA can be a great place. If it's in healthcare, Nashville can be solid. If it's internet security, Washington DC is a fantastic place. You'll need to hustle hard. This is the most basic piece of advice I'd give to any founder, especially when your startup isn't in the Valley, where money and talent are both more abundant. You can make up a lot of gaps with grit, and you'll need that skill regardless of where you're building your company.



Final thought: The world is better if you succeed. I believe people can and should launch startups everywhere, because it will help to fire up the economic engine in your city, and it will help to pave the way toward a more start-up friendly city. Consider distributed and remote employees, it's becoming more common and accepted everywhere and it can help solve an important geographic talent problem.