Google gives employees free one-hour massages on-site when they complete projects; Facebook offers to cover $20,000 in cryogenic egg freezing for its female technologists. Sound extravagant? When you’re competing for the the small number of people with the skills to work in cutting-edge tech, you can’t try too hard. In fact, Jeremy Burton, president of Products & Marketing at EMC, said that recruiting talent is the number one thing tech companies need to focus on.

“It’s a massive competition for talent,” Burton told Lisa Martin (@Luccazara), cohost of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during the recent ACG SV Grow Awards 2016. “If you can’t hire the best and brightest, and you can’t motivate the best and brightest, it’s tough to build a great company,” he said.

He added that while this is especially true of tech companies, it is also true for many other industries, as it is looking as though every company will need to become a tech company. He gave Tesla as an example — are they an automotive company or a tech company? They’re both, he stated.

Beyond Silicon Valley

Burton talked about his love for Silicon Valley — its “spark” and penchant for reinventing itself. He recounted how 10 or 15 years ago, people said Silicon Valley was moribund and the bubble would burst. Now roaring as loud as ever, it’s clear that Silicon Valley has staying power in the world economy.

However, Burton said, it’s important for companies to be globally minded. “When you talk about growing a company, you’re going to grow beyond the confines of Silicon Valley, probably beyond the shores of the United States,” he said. He said that while Silicon Valley is the undisputed epicenter, some of the fastest-growing technology markets are elsewhere.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the ACG SV Grow Awards 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE