For all the benefits of moving to the US, many Australian start-up founders want to remain down under. According to last year's Startup Muster survey of the nation's tech community, only 18 per cent of local entrepreneurs intend to move overseas, and even those going offshore keep the bulk of their operations in Australia. 
Their reasons for keeping operations in Australia may vary, but for those focusing on Silicon Valley costs are a key concern. Didier Elzinga of Melbourne's Culture Amp decided to keep management and the bulk of operations in the company's home town due to several aspects. "For us there are many great benefits, including lifestyle, but commercial decisions play into it too," he told The Australian.
"Our engineering team is based in Melbourne, and we are happy not to be competing for talent in the bloodbath that is Silicon Valley." The rigours of international travel can take a toll and Temando's CEO Karl Hartmann found the demands of regularly flying across the Pacific left his company at a disadvantage.
"Previously when I was flying here once a quarter, things moved gradually," he recalls.
Temando had to build a base in San Francisco but Hartmann warns start-ups to be mindful of costs.
"I'd caution any Australian company looking at coming here to fill engineering jobs that coming here is very expensive, I'd argue you can find very good talent in Australia," he says.
Affinity Live's Geoff McQueen says that keeping costs down on talent is crucial for an early-stage start-up.
"It's about a third less to employ a developer in the Illawarra than the Bay Area," says McQueen who has kept his -development team in the company's home town of Wollongong.
"Saving those costs gives a start-up with limited funding a lot more time." Like most tech companies having a US presence, if only for management and sales, has proved essential for Instaclustr. "The main reason," says CEO Peter Nichol, "was to be to near our customers and partners from a physical and time zone perspective. Over 60 per cent of our customer base is located in North America and 100 per cent of ecosystem partners."Despite the benefits of remaining in Australia, many Australian entrepreneurs have little choice but to get closer to their customers while keeping one foot at home. It's a trend that's likely to accelerate but local start-ups are alive to the benefits of keeping operations and employment local. That's an encouraging sign for those trying to develop Australia into a global start-up centre.