For those in the Minneapolis area that want to discuss Minnesota's startup potential or exchange tips on moving to Boulder or the Valley, or other HN-related topics, here's tonight's meetup details (6pm at the 5-8 Club):
Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
41–50 of 57 posts
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
It can if there is no historical technology culture. MN is in a bad spot because it has high taxes and no history. Plus, the government (both state and local) really don't care about technology startups. Heck, most of the large IT shops in the area are run by people who don't want tech startups because that would increase their costs. They already recruit from around the area (Iowa and ND) for tech to keep the price…
mn has plenty of history (you may have heard of youtube, or unisys, or cray), and a good number of entrepreneurs. just no angels. angels can go to hell imho. i'll bootstrap thanks.
Youtube really doesn't count (see johns's comment). Unisys comes from the merger of Sperry and Burroughs which both had their origins in Philadelphia[1] and is now headquartered in PA. Cray started as a MN company, but after a long and colorful history (some would say tragic) it is now headquartered in Seattle, WA.
Well, angels and VCs are needed by a lot of people and MN doesn't have the environment to support a startup community.
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#43Welcome to Austin! Not only taxes are lower here, but the city has a real downtown, tons of interesting and educated people, great outdoor activities and a nice dating scene. I can't think of a more balanced place to start a company. The only drawback is lack of VCs in the area. Austin Ventures are the only girl in town and they tend to favor "seasonal CEOs" over young engineers and are extremely conservative with th…
Austin is a great town with a lot of great people and it's a lot of fun, but...
I was absolutely miserable living here.
If you're young, you should head to one of the coasts. That's my opinion.
Austin would be great if I was older and in a position to buy a house/ start a family / etc
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
That Tax Foundation survey would seem to suggest that CA (48), NY(49), and MA (36) aren't good places to start a startup either. http://www.taxfoundation.org/files/bp59_es.pdf I think that the other factors mentioned in the article: innovative incentives for investors, locality to VCs and experienced (successful) startups, and a great community of developers all factor in more heavily than tax policy.
It would also be wrong to think that lowering taxes would change something dramatically; . The Dakotas were in bad shape economically and could sacrifice existing tax revenue and responsible fiscal oversight (remembering a lot of what they attracted was financial industry drawn to low regulation and low consumer protections -- thanks a lot Dakotas!) Minnesota's economy is going relatively well, and there's no dearth…
uhm.. North Dakota is doing fine fiscally (budget surplus) and has a lot of money coming in from oil. Perhaps you are referring to South Dakota which is home to a lot of credit card companies? Minnesota is running the 10th worst budget deficit (14.7% of state's general fund).
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#45Welcome to Austin! Not only taxes are lower here, but the city has a real downtown, tons of interesting and educated people, great outdoor activities and a nice dating scene. I can't think of a more balanced place to start a company. The only drawback is lack of VCs in the area. Austin Ventures are the only girl in town and they tend to favor "seasonal CEOs" over young engineers and are extremely conservative with th…
Austin is a great town with a lot of great people and it's a lot of fun, but... I was absolutely miserable living here. If you're young, you should head to one of the coasts. That's my opinion. Austin would be great if I was older and in a position to buy a house/ start a family / etc
Ha, yeah, with a wife and two kids I can say that I can at least agree with the latter part of your assessment. :)
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#46The healthcare startup scene in MN is actually pretty vibrant, but other sectors aren't quite as strong.
I've been involved in a number of healthcare start-ups in the Twin Cities over the years, including my current VC-backed one, Bloom Health (http://gobloomhealth.com).
There's quite a bit of startup work to be found if you look around. It isn't as barren as some would have you believe.
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why the down votes for linking to a supporting document? Haters going to hate?
Maybe because you linked to a document that ranks total state taxes instead of per capita taxes? (which is incredibly misleading regardless of whether or not it was deliberate)
Minnesota is not going to fair well on the per capita basis either.
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#48Welcome to Austin! Not only taxes are lower here, but the city has a real downtown, tons of interesting and educated people, great outdoor activities and a nice dating scene. I can't think of a more balanced place to start a company. The only drawback is lack of VCs in the area. Austin Ventures are the only girl in town and they tend to favor "seasonal CEOs" over young engineers and are extremely conservative with th…
Austin is a great town with a lot of great people and it's a lot of fun, but... I was absolutely miserable living here. If you're young, you should head to one of the coasts. That's my opinion. Austin would be great if I was older and in a position to buy a house/ start a family / etc
Why so down on Austin? I've heard really good things about the nightlife scene and other things young folks would enjoy... do tell!
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#49As a lover of the Twin Cities, this is definitely a saddening read. Minnesota is a pretty great place to work in tech as an employee, but it's not currently the thriving area of tech innovation I'd love to see it become. It's too bad, too, since in theory the Twin Cities has a lot going for it for startups: lower cost of living, highly educated workforce, and theres nothing like a long, bitter, winter to justify long…
> Just about every survey of "Business-Friendly Tax Rates" tends to put CA, MA, and NY near the bottom, surely a higher tax rate can't be that discouraging to potential startups?
It isn't fatal at current levels given their other properties. If you don't have those other properties, you're competing with low-tax places that also don't have those properties.
Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was
#50I've never lived outside of the midwest, so I don't know enough about how Minnesota compares, but do I love living here. I plan on leaving to help make Seeing Interactive successful, which I'm not torn up about, but I hope to move back before too long. I say if there's anyone successful out there who loves MN, move your started up start-ups (aka companies) to MN and make it work. You too can be an angel some day :) The midwest is long overdue for a tech mecca.