Rx for Silicon Valley success: VC advice

    1. We need to enable entrepreneurs who want to start companies and create jobs in the U.S. A bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D., Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R., Ind.) is a step in the right direction. Their "Startup Visa Act" would create a two-year visa for immigrant entrepreneurs whose firms attract at least $250,000 in U.S. angel or venture capital financing. The visa could be extended if the entrepreneur meets specified job creation targets. This kind of job creation would be powerful: Venture-backed companies represented 12.1 million jobs in 2009–some 11% of all private-sector jobs in the U.S. According to a recent study, 25% of these companies were founded by immigrants.

    2. Businesses need to scale technology to make their teams more productive and work environments more flexible. In Silicon Valley, we use the technologies we create–video conferencing, chat, email–to fuel our results-driven culture. Our people work anytime, from anywhere. No matter where you live or come from or look like, you're valued for doing the work when and where you want. You get more work done with lower travel costs and faster time to market. The other benefit: a highly diverse workforce.

    3. We need to champion entrepreneurial values–big thinking, big risk-taking and even failure as a doorway to eventual achievement. This is critical for the next generation of entrepreneurs, our kids. Parents, mentors and educators should encourage young girls and boys to study STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and teach the values of entrepreneurship early on. A great model is The Girls' Middle School in Mountain View, CA, where an Entrepreneurship course allows all seventh graders to develop business plans and sell their products. The course culminates in a fund-raising pitch to a panel of venture capitalists and CEOs. The audience numbers well over 100 people. I judge a lot of business-plan contests, and these young girls are as buttoned up and entrepreneurial as any business-school teams I've seen.

    Capitalizing on workplace diversity is not a short-term exercise. But if there's one thing Silicon Valley is really good at, it’s patiently investing to achieve a long-term goal. This is one of those opportunities.

    Theresia Gouw Ranzetta is a managing partner with venture capital firm Accel Partners, where she focuses on Internet and software investments. She was featured in "The New Valley Girls," a story about the supremely connected rising-star women of Silicon Valley, in Fortune in 2008.