> why does the vast majority of new tech continue to
> A) establish themselves in such an uncomfortable location
> B) not embrace distributed teams
Hiring networks. You want to hire people based on referrals and not experience or qualifications, you need to hire through your extended friend network, which if you're raised in the SF startup scene, is all in SF.
It's also a state of affairs that ends up being unintentionally racist, since probably most of your friends look like you, and probably most of their friends that they'll refer to you when you're hiring look like them
While I see why you think "Because it's their choice." isn't very helpful, I would say there some truth to it.
People in technology seem far more willing to accept to accept "worse" conditions and just generally less aware of technology as an competitive industry compared to other people in their respective industries.
A) establish themselves in such an uncomfortable location
B) not embrace distributed teams
It's a terrible cycle at this point.