Globetrotter: Cameron Yuill's heart is in San Francisco

by Media Week Media Week 01-Jul-08, 07:30

Cameron Yuill spent five years as a lawyer in Australia before moving to San Francisco to set up Viator. He founded digital advertising agency AdGent007 in 2007, expanding to the UK recently.

San Francisco: Most entrepreneurs are a little nuts. San Francisco (aka Silicon Valley) is full of crazy people. It's the one place where you can stand in a bar and say "I have this idea ..." and the guy next to you will say: "That's an awesome idea." The guy will usually be a venture capitalist or angel investor and, bang, you're in business.

Media environment: This is where it is at. There are bigger markets out there where media is bought and sold, but this is where the vast majority of innovations that will fuel the changing media industry are taking place. More global media dollars are flowing through this area as the shift to online spend continues.

Media owners and agencies: Here, they're as proactive as you get.

Digital: How about this as an answer? Google.

Work ethic: The entrepreneurial spirit ensures plenty of long hours. I've noticed that there is one group of people who start early and work late (management, sales and business development) and another that starts late and works through the night (techies). Working the weekend is typical and there is less vacation time - taking two solid weeks off is unthinkable.

Social scene: The single best part about this city is that people couldn't care less about who you are, what you do for a living or who you sleep with. This is a place where you make lifelong friends instantly. It's the most open and accepting environment on the planet, which makes for some fun nights out on the town.

One thing we can learn from San Francisco: To encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, which is what the Valley stands for, you need to foster an environment where successes and failures are celebrated equally. Here, a failure is just another milestone and one that is respected within the entrepreneurial and venture communities for what it is - an attempt at success.

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