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Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

tech.mn

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Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#51

Post by ianb »

protomyth wrote: post #44
ianb wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Yes, I'm referring to those states (at least I believe it's both North and South Dakota, though maybe it's only the South?) being lax on financial regulation of companies.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#52

Post by lloydarmbrust »

joshu wrote: post #4

What? I take everything seriously.

Okay, that statement was incorrect--but I'm not sure how to phrase it.

My point was that if we were still in Minnesota, there is a 0% chance that you or any of our awesome investors would have given us a chance. Being a part of YC gave us the chance to meet and interact with some of the greatest minds in the Valley.

Our idea is essentially a unique approach to a sales model--it's hard to convince someone of that over e-mail.

I do apologize for phrasing it incorrectly.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#53

Post by danbmil99 »

ryanricard wrote: post #8

As 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…

One thing people always seem to forget: startups are almost never profitable. Meaning, they don't pay dividends, and they expense everything else, so (with a decent accountant) the corporate tax thing is more or less irrelevant.

Much more germane to startup costs are the salaries (which are strongly influenced by personal & real estate tax rates), benefits (health can be 2X or more in expensive areas), and space.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#54

Post by kwhinnery »

Minnesota has several good, small software shops doing interesting work. Also plenty of active contributors (or founders) in prominent open source projects (JRuby guys live here, two Appcelerator employees, jQuery and Dojo committers and more, and this is just people I know personally). It's true, you don't hear of many VC or Angel funded start-ups around these parts. But we do have plenty of start up companies engineered to, you know, MAKE MONEY from day 1.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#55

Post by LargeWu »

pragmatic wrote: post #22
protomyth wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus, in a lot of towns in the Dakotas, the broadband is way cheaper and way faster then the Twin Cities.

And it's going to get cheaper and faster thanks to a grant from the Obama administration. http://www.sdncommunications.com/blog/?p=64

I grew up in North Dakota and was there over the 4th. My parents live in a town of 1300 people, and their house had just been wired with fiber optic for cable and internet. I'm also pretty sure they pay much less than I do in Minneapolis.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#56

Post by protomyth »

ianb wrote: post #51
protomyth wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Yes, I'm referring to those states (at least I believe it's both North and South Dakota, though maybe it's only the South?) being lax on financial regulation of companies.

I'm pretty sure its only SD, they have all the credit card companies. ND has its own bank though.

Re: Greener pastures? A tale of the Minnesota startup that was

#57

Post by melito »

aliston wrote: post #48
melito wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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!

I love Austin. I think it's an awesome city.

Right place at the wrong time I suppose. Just wasn't happy while I was there.

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