Geography does not determine where a company can begin. It still influences the speed and density of access to capital, experienced operators, specialized talent, customers, and informal information networks.
The relevant geography is specific to the problem. Shopify's Ottawa context, Kilimo's proximity to agricultural water stress, and Careem's direct knowledge of Middle Eastern mobility produced advantages that relocation could have weakened.
Place creates knowledge. Founders living inside a market notice normalized friction that outsiders may never see, while founders arriving from elsewhere can identify assumptions local participants stopped questioning.
The archive treats location as part of the causal record, not decorative biography. Where a founder built helps explain what they saw and which choices were available.