Beyond Silicon Valley: Rethinking The Global Startup Growth Gap

Why do promising startups emerge worldwide—but startups that become global giants often begin in traditional high-tech innovation and entrepreneurship hubs like Silicon Valley? In an interview with Columbia Research, Nataliya L. Wright, PhD, Assistant Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, shares her expertise and passion for answering this key question.

As a strategy scholar, Dr. Wright describes the conundrum of the “global startup scaling gap,” which she believes “drives some of the big economic challenges that face different geographies around the world—and highlights the role of entrepreneurs in helping to overcome them.”

Dr. Wright is especially interested in why we see differences in entrepreneurial growth across the globe, and unique factors helping or hindering growth across different companies and startup ecosystems. In a global economy that is increasingly interconnected—yet still shaped by country-specific markets—she focuses her research on what enables some companies to grow and succeed, while others stagnate or fail, and why this varies systematically across geographies. 

Dr. Wright’s passion stems from her own experiences growing up as an international refugee in the United States after immigrating from Kyiv, Ukraine in the 1990s. At an early age, she observed cultural and international differences between her home life and her schooling, while also developing an appreciation for engaging with people from different backgrounds. This early exposure sparked her interest in international economics.

Before joining the academic ranks at Columbia Business School, Dr. Wright had first-hand experience as an entrepreneur, as she founded a startup, and served as an advisor and a board member for startups. Additionally, she was a Senior Consultant and Staff Economist at the World Bank and the White House. She earned a PhD from Harvard Business School, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a BA from Yale University. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor and a Chazen Senior Scholar at Columbia Business School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business, where her research and teaching focus on strategy, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and globalization. 

Dr. Wright studies tech companies with the goal of producing practical research that helps explain inequalities in entrepreneurial growth, and supports entrepreneurs as they build and scale businesses in different global contexts. It is widely accepted that most startups fail, but a small number “become disruptors in the market, bringing new innovations that tend to reach global audiences and have a big impact,” she says. 

Thinking in a geographical context, companies like Google, Meta, Apple, and Slack are largely concentrated in traditional hubs like Silicon Valley in the United States. However, Dr. Wright explains that “there are a few exceptions where startups have emerged outside these hubs and made an outsized impact, introducing novel technologies for businesses and consumers worldwide, while boosting employment and economic growth at home.” 

When comparing locations where startups typically begin, structural barriers like regulations and infrastructure often explain the scaling gap. However, Dr. Wright’s work shows that digital technologies like AI and open-source software are reducing some of these barriers—but each company must also make its own unique strategic decisions, such as when to enter specific markets, and whether and how to incorporate AI. These strategic market and technological decisions are within the control of managers and leaders, and can significantly shape outcomes, particularly in an AI-driven economy. “These strategic choices are mostly at the discretion of the company itself,” she explains.

Dr. Wright values this type of work because it can be applied directly in the classroom, where she teaches future entrepreneurs and managers to think critically about the strategic challenges, risks, and opportunities of growth—part of Columbia Business School’s broader commitment to equipping future leaders with the knowledge and frameworks to lead in an AI-driven world. “Being at Columbia Business School is especially rewarding because it allows me and others to quickly turn research into practice, shaping how we train future managers and entrepreneurs, and at the same time, influence the schemas they will one day apply in their future roles,” she says. 

Dr. Wright’s research includes extensive fieldwork, and one of her main sources of inspiration is raw data she collects from working directly with entrepreneurs. “I am a field researcher at heart, and I draw inspiration from being with entrepreneurs around the world,” she says. Her research has taken her to Australia, Colombia, India, Kenya, Japan, Poland, Ukraine, and beyond. She has conducted hundreds of interviews with scaling startups around the world to gather data, and has used novel tools in her field, such as machine learning and large language models, to systematically analyze differences in strategic thinking and decision-making across companies and regions. Additionally, she tracks the digital footprints of companies—particularly shifts in website language over time—which gives her insight into how startups expand globally.

Her fieldwork also revealed profound differences in approaches to strategy. She explains that Silicon Valley companies often follow a “move fast and break things” mindset to quickly find successful ideas. However, in other regions, entrepreneurs often face greater resource constraints and higher risks from failure, so they tend to adopt more cautious, deliberate approaches; they are more likely to carefully plan decisions and avoid mistakes. As a result, each strategy’s effectiveness depends heavily on the local context, and approaches that work in Silicon Valley may not translate well elsewhere. 

Looking back, Dr. Wright notes that several of her ideas have evolved as her research has deepened. In some cases, this has led to entirely new conclusions. For instance, she initially believed that the technologies themselves might have different effects across startups in different geographies; for example, certain AI tools might work better in France than in Japan. However, ultimately she found that instead of the technologies themselves as reasons, the different outcomes are also driven by regional differences in whether companies adopt technologies and how they use them.

Dr. Wright’s passion for international life extends beyond her research. She enjoys traveling and engaging with people from different parts of the world, often through her fieldwork. Additionally, as a certified yoga instructor, she finds joy in practicing an activity she can do anywhere regardless of language barriers. Wherever fieldwork takes her, she has found a bridge through yoga, as she has joined classes in the various countries she visits, even without speaking the local language. These experiences reinforce her sense of global connection and optimism. As she reflects, “it’s that beautiful moment where you realize that at the end of the day, we all have very similar values, and it’s easier to connect than you thought.”

Envisioned by Dr. Jeannette M. Wing, Executive Vice President for Research, the “Researcher of the Month” series celebrates Columbia University researchers at all levels — students, postdocs, and faculty — by showcasing their scientific contributions, passion for their work, and personal stories.