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Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

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Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#11

Post by okaramian »

lifeoffbi wrote: post #7

however, once a consumer web start-up in boston does get some initial traction and raise money, it has incredible access to talent. gemvara.com and SCVNGR are two great examples. they've been able to use the dearth of consumer web investments in boston to their advantage and recruit all this great young talent, and not needing to fight with 10 hot competitors to retain them.

The problem here is that if you really want to work in a company like that and you're young, you probably still are going to try to move out West (at least this is what I did).

It's possible there is somewhat of a brain drain occurring due to the lack of startups from East to West, I don't really know of a lot of people that have moved the reverse.

I went to Northeastern University and the coop program is great, but it always seemed like established companies (I worked for 1 startup which was an amazing experience, and 2 defense contractors) were a lot more aggressive about hitting them up for talent instead of startups (which could have taken advantage of young, cheap, aggressive engineers).

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#12

Post by fjabre »

Cambridge is basically a micro-silicon valley. Although I think Boston will continue to remain a strong contender for the #2 spot in tech, I don't think it will eclipse the Valley.

Boston does however already eclipse the Valley in terms of academics.

Simply put, schools are what Boston does best. Startup activity is and will always continue to be a side effect of the strong academic presence here. In the Bay area, it seems to be the other way around.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#13

Post by api »

Here's a suggestion: have Boston develop a culture in which people have actual friends (as opposed to colleagues) and discuss things other than their careers.

Boston is a weird place. In some ways it is incredibly liberal and progressive, but in other ways it is unbelievably conservative and stuffy.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#14

Post by far33d »

kloncks wrote: post #4

All this reasons have to do with raising money and valuations. I will concede that this is important but I think the problem that any other area runs into when trying to take something back from Silicon Valley isn't the money, but the community. The Boston tech community, like the Chicago, Austin, or NYC ones, have a few technological superstars. Yet, Silicon Valley has more. A ton more. It's had decades of a headsta…

The other issue in Boston is one of focus. The reason Boston tech events and community blog posts, conversations, etc tend to be about funding is that it's all the consumer Boston startups have in common.

There's no concentration (like NYC) and not enough volume (like SV) to get 10 people in a room all making startups that have similar issues beyond fundraising, hiring, and office space. That's not how communities are built. Communities are built on what makes them unique. Many Boston entrepreneurs find their peer communities in SF.

Talking about fundraising all the time is boring.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#15

Post by lincolnq »

acconrad wrote: post #8

But its a self-fulfilling prophecy - if we don't do everything to keep companies where they are founded (which requires VCs and Angels to be more forgiving), it will only continue to improve the SV area and hurt the other tech communities, like Boston. I think if you are a founder, you should really focus on grabbing money in your local ecosystems and STRESSING to VCs/Angels that this is an investment in the local ec…

But as a founder, what are your priorities? Strengthening the local economy, or making your business work? I don't think most founders have the luxury to insist that they get funded in their hometown.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#16

Post by smokinn »

jbail wrote: post #10
jbail wrote: post #2

"...the Valley is an order of magnitude closer to being self-aware." LOL.

I don't know why I'm getting downvoted. That quote from the article was funny. I should preface this next statement by saying, I'm not trolling, this doesn't apply to the Valley in particular and this is serious food for thought: Does anyone worry that all the sharing of tips about what worked for company X and what new thing company Y is doing actually stifles innovation by creating an echo chamber of sorts? Do thes…

You got downvoted not because you're critical of Silicon Valley but because your comment was a useless 3-character "LOL" that adds nothing to the conversation. As soon as you explained why you thought it was laughable you got upvoted.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#17

Post by royrod »

jbail wrote: post #10
jbail wrote: post #2

"...the Valley is an order of magnitude closer to being self-aware." LOL.

I don't know why I'm getting downvoted. That quote from the article was funny. I should preface this next statement by saying, I'm not trolling, this doesn't apply to the Valley in particular and this is serious food for thought: Does anyone worry that all the sharing of tips about what worked for company X and what new thing company Y is doing actually stifles innovation by creating an echo chamber of sorts? Do thes…

I think those are very fair questions. On the one hand I agree a lot of startups can be derivative and may not pass the "how is this making the world better" question. But at the same time, that's a much higher bar than most companies are held to...

As far as Quora and Posterous as examples, I think their excellent UX do advance the world in that they help people share their thoughts and experiences better/more easily than with previous generations of those ideas.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#18

Post by royrod »

lincolnq wrote: post #15
acconrad wrote: post #8

But its a self-fulfilling prophecy - if we don't do everything to keep companies where they are founded (which requires VCs and Angels to be more forgiving), it will only continue to improve the SV area and hurt the other tech communities, like Boston. I think if you are a founder, you should really focus on grabbing money in your local ecosystems and STRESSING to VCs/Angels that this is an investment in the local ec…

But as a founder, what are your priorities? Strengthening the local economy, or making your business work? I don't think most founders have the luxury to insist that they get funded in their hometown.

Agreed, it's a tough problem. I think Boston investors want to support Boston startups, but because of their structure/individual limitations (mentioned in the article) they can't necessarily "take one for the team" if it's investing 20% of their 'dry powder' for the year.

That said I do think startups can play the "fund us locally" card a bit.

Re: Reasons startups move to Silicon Valley And Things Boston can do to keep them

#20

Post by kujawa »

lsb wrote: post #9

As a Bostonian since 2005, November, December, January, February, and March are pretty compelling reasons to move.

Also June, July, August, and about half of September.

Really, Boston is only tolerable for that one glorious week each in the spring and fall.

I do miss Boston. But not the weather. It'd be nice if we got an occasional thunder storm out here, though.

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