Ask HN: Which companies or startups in SF give tours of their offices?

#1

Post by rnesh » Wed, Aug 05, 2009, 7:54 PM UTC

I'm heading up to San Francisco from Los Angeles this weekend. It will be my first time there. I would like to take a tour of any software company or startup that would allow that, but I don't know of any that would (unless I know someone that works there).

Anything that has to do with programming/computers/startups/etc would be interesting to me. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do while in SF?

Thanks.

Re: Ask HN: Which companies or startups in SF give tours of their offices?

#2

Post by SwellJoe » Wed, Aug 05, 2009, 9:12 PM UTC

If you're driving, I'd recommend a brief detour to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. It's just off 101, next to Microsoft and Google. On the weekend you can see a Babbage engine run, and on the first and third Saturday of the month a PDP-1 fully restored and running Space War (and the docents doing the demos are the guys who wrote Space War, among other awesome stuff).

Schedule:

http://www.computerhistory.org/hours/

I go every month or two, whenever a friend is in town who hasn't visited. It's always fun.

It's no startup, but it is an enlightening experience for an entrepreneurial nerd. Those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, you know?

Re: Ask HN: Which companies or startups in SF give tours of their offices?

#3

Post by earl » Wed, Aug 05, 2009, 9:38 PM UTC

Um, who are you, what are you doing, and why do you want to see a startup office?

Here's pics of one of them: http://blog.earlh.com/index.php/2009/07/building-a-zip-line-...

Re: Ask HN: Which companies or startups in SF give tours of their offices?

#4

Post by rnesh » Wed, Aug 05, 2009, 10:37 PM UTC

earl wrote: post #3

Um, who are you, what are you doing, and why do you want to see a startup office? Here's pics of one of them: http://blog.earlh.com/index.php/2009/07/building-a-zip-line-...

I'm a 23 year old student, finishing up my B.S. in Computer Science. I've recently started working on my own startup with a friend (I'll be posting it on HN when I have something to show) and trying to find a balance between that and school.

As for my reason for wanting to see a startup office, I've seen a lot of pictures (thanks for posting those), and as enjoyable as they are to look at, I would like to see the environment for myself. For me, it's about taking a closer look into the culture which interests me. I've wanted to travel to SF for years now, and see the tech culture that everyone speaks so highly of.