What proximity matters most for building vertical startups?

For most of startup history, the prevailing practice was to move west. That’s where the opportunity, talent, and capital was (is?). In fact, many VCs refused to invest anywhere else… ignoring other startups or predicting their investment on a move to the bay.

For a number of reasons, we no longer operate in that severe of a world.

But, the idea that talent, knowledge, and experience density matter is valid. The question is not “does proximity matter?” but “what proximity matters?”