It was a successful project that seriously put Fairchild and the region on the map. All of the "Traitorous Eight" would go on to cofound or finance some of Silicon Valley's biggest companies.

Surprise: Not all of them are located in Silicon Valley. The team over at Expert Market made a handy map to show the spread of top tech companies: Here's the companies who made the cut: ...

As someone who has covered Silicon Valley for over 40 years and understands how it works and what makes it successful, I am often asked the real reason this region has become the epicenter of tech.