Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator • Hacker News Board

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#21

Post by kovar » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:32 PM UTC

dlevine wrote: post #20

This is great. I grew up in Baltimore, but headed to the Bay Area after college because that's where all of the action is in the high-tech space. My mom always tries to convince me that Baltimore is becoming a high-tech hub, and maybe it actually is.

For me, this may be more than just a high tech hub. Silicon Valley is great, but in a sense, the balance is tipped too far towards tech. Due to East Coast demographics, geography, and culture, I'm hoping/expecting that East Coast incubators will be a bit more diverse.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#22

Post by ry0ohki » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:34 PM UTC

Griever wrote: post #18

thestoicattack wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right on. I have lived in Baltimore almost my entire life. I'm a PhD candidate at Hopkins now, but if I do a startup when I finish, I'd much rather stay here than move to California.

The Wire (while being an incredible show) definitely hurt Baltimore in terms of its reputation. There are some fantastic areas around, and the culture is very inspiring.

Baltimore already had that reputation thanks to Homicide, and also the fact that there really are hundreds of murders every year. I'm a Baltimore native, and there is really no hiding the fact that Baltimore, while a great city, still has some serious social problems and the Wire nailed them perfectly.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#23

Post by mnemonik » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:37 PM UTC

Griever wrote: post #18

thestoicattack wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right on. I have lived in Baltimore almost my entire life. I'm a PhD candidate at Hopkins now, but if I do a startup when I finish, I'd much rather stay here than move to California.

The Wire (while being an incredible show) definitely hurt Baltimore in terms of its reputation. There are some fantastic areas around, and the culture is very inspiring.

I have to admit, the first thing that popped in to my head when I saw this headline was "Body-more Murda-land" from the opening credits of The Wire. Great show, though.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#24

Post by intellectronica » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:38 PM UTC

Oooh, there's a John Waters movie hiding somewhere in here...

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#25

Post by xiaoma » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:38 PM UTC

Griever wrote: post #18

thestoicattack wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right on. I have lived in Baltimore almost my entire life. I'm a PhD candidate at Hopkins now, but if I do a startup when I finish, I'd much rather stay here than move to California.

The Wire (while being an incredible show) definitely hurt Baltimore in terms of its reputation. There are some fantastic areas around, and the culture is very inspiring.

I think it's the consistent 200-300 homicides per year that hurt Baltimore's reputation.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#26

Post by subelsky » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:45 PM UTC

xiaoma wrote: post #25

Griever wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Wire (while being an incredible show) definitely hurt Baltimore in terms of its reputation. There are some fantastic areas around, and the culture is very inspiring.

I think it's the consistent 200-300 homicides per year that hurt Baltimore's reputation.

yes but how many other cities have had their homicides so dramatically portrayed to the world cognoscenti?

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#27

Post by subelsky » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 4:46 PM UTC

dlevine wrote: post #20

This is great. I grew up in Baltimore, but headed to the Bay Area after college because that's where all of the action is in the high-tech space. My mom always tries to convince me that Baltimore is becoming a high-tech hub, and maybe it actually is.

I don't want us to be a city that tries to be something it's not. We shouldn't even try to replicate what you have out there, but, I think it's a very creative place where it is possible to do great things with technology, especially if you want to avoid any possible "echo chamber" effects, and especially if you want to bootstrap or do things your own way.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#28

Post by LiveTheDream » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 5:02 PM UTC

dlevine wrote: post #20

This is great. I grew up in Baltimore, but headed to the Bay Area after college because that's where all of the action is in the high-tech space. My mom always tries to convince me that Baltimore is becoming a high-tech hub, and maybe it actually is.

The Baltimore region actually is a hub for gaming companies: MicroProse, Firaxis, Big Huge Games, etc. I'm not overly familiar with the video game industry, but Baltimore/Maryland is no slouch. Zynga has an office in Timonium now (suburbs of Baltimore) where they are hiring.

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#29

Post by paulsmith » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 5:05 PM UTC

xiaoma wrote: post #25

Griever wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Wire (while being an incredible show) definitely hurt Baltimore in terms of its reputation. There are some fantastic areas around, and the culture is very inspiring.

I think it's the consistent 200-300 homicides per year that hurt Baltimore's reputation.

Every major American city has its share of violent, drug- or gang-based crime. That's not to diminish it, but unless you are actively involved in those trades or unfortunate enough to be caught up in it by proximity, it likely will never visit you. It's a shame because there are risks everywhere (suburbanites think nothing of climbing in their cars everyday to hop on the highways where 30,000 people die every year) but we're so bad in general at evaluating them.

Frankly, it doesn't bother me that Baltimore's reputation is somewhat tarnished, because that just makes it all the more appealing to live here and know that there is great art, great music, a vibrant technology and hacking scene, lots of smart young people, and friendly neighbors to enjoy. Now if we could just get more bike lanes and some better frickin' public transit ...

Re: Baltimore Is Getting Its First Startup Incubator

#30

Post by LiveTheDream » Tue, Mar 08, 2011, 5:12 PM UTC

> Applicants to Startup City, who will be selected based on a YouTube video they submit to the program's website

A YouTube video alone is not sufficient to make an informed selection from the applicants. An interview in-person, or on the phone at least, is essential. I hope the process was just over-simplified in the article.