I was recently invited by the Innovation in Journalism Program at Stanford University to present to a bunch of journalists who are here in Silicon Valley on a three-month fellowship, and talk about what fuels the culture of innovation in Silicon Valley. Naturally, people want to know the elements that create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship. I have given many lectures on what makes Silicon Valley work and see these five pillars in this way:

• Access to capital;
• Critical mass of talent;
• Culture of mentorship;
• Protection of intellectual property;
• Celebrate failure.

We find an unusual culture in Silicon Valley. All these five elements are in abundance. Here, at any party on a Saturday night you can swing a dead cat and hit people who will make a fine startup team: from software engineers to finance types and marketing eagles, to seasoned managers. There is an amazing ability to find people who are willing to help you with an hour-long advice session with no expectations in return whatsoever. In just about any Starbucks, you see laptops open and companies starting and ideas being discussed with amazing fervor. But most of all, what I see as the striking difference between this area and any other area in the world is that there is no stigma for failing in this culture. Your last two companies could have been miserable failures, yet you could still be a hot commodity for the next startup. Why?

The answer is very simple. If you made it to SV, you are smart and probably hard working. So if somebody else paid the tuition for your learning, then I will not have to. This makes you more valuable than the guy who succeeded in his first startup, as he has yet to make his set of mistakes—which may be on my watch!