5 ms·

Urbana-Champaign is in the middle of no-where. The University is Urbana-Champaign - there is very little city around the campus. It would be one of the worst pl

by jostmey 11y ago

Urbana-Champaign is in the middle of no-where. The University is Urbana-Champaign - there is very little city around the campus. It would be one of the worst places to start a company. Not to mention that Illinois is one of the last states where I would want to start a company.

kevhsu 11y ago
Well there's a world class university there...
- meatysnapper 11y ago
  Not to mention DJB. Wouldn't be the worst place to be a security minded company. EDIT: But yeah, Illinois :(
  - zerohp 11y ago
    DJB is at University of Illinois-Chicago.
    - wyldfire 11y ago
      Some of you might be wondering: "Who is this DJB?" I was. Daniel J Bernstein. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Bernstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Bernstein
  - selectodude 11y ago
    He's in Chicago.
afridi 11y ago
Agreed that Urbana-Champaign might not be the best place to start a company but that doesn't mean students can't start ventures while on campus and then move them elsewhere after graduation. We've been seeing that a lot recently. Additionally, there are some benefits for startups that stay in town. Rent is extremely cheap (you can get your own bedroom in an apartment for ~$300/month) and you get access to a lot of talented students coming out of the university.
skynetv2 11y ago
I beg to differ. U-C is an excellent place. I dont think you have ever been there to say that. Its very affordable. You want to spend millions on rent or hire your staff? college town - perfect for those college grads to entertain themselves after work Hire students from UIUC, Parkland, ISU, and few other campuses around. Not great restaurants but pretty good variety of cuisines Chicago is less than 2 hours away by car no sitting in traffic for hours every day only drawback is you cant jump companies every 6 months air connectivity is limited but Bloomington next door has decent options excellent place to have a family and raise children Yahoo is increasing its presence in Champaign, so is Intel, Caterpillar, and a few more. I know they are not startups but there is a reason why they are growing there.
- hcrisp 11y ago
  Yahoo moved their Hadoop analytics group from CA to IL at least partially due to huge turnover. Since moving they have not lost "quite" as many people. UIUC is also where the transistor was invented, and it the home of NCSA and HDF Group. In my opinion, it has definitely contributed to computer science and scientific computing everywhere.
  - shostack 11y ago
    What do you think accounted for the huge turnover and why moving from CA to IL reduced that? Less competitive job options in IL that made the opportunities look more attractive?
    - hcrisp 11y ago
      Perhaps the stability of the Midwest and a culture unlike Silicon Valley where folks move jobs every two to three years. There does seem to be more loyalty in IL, and the calmer pace may encourage more long-term planning?
      - shostack 11y ago
        Honestly, I spent most of my life in Chicago and only recently moved out to the Bay. I can't say in a major metro like that there is any more inherent loyalty. In many industries the only way to get ahead is to change jobs every couple years to make sure you stay at market rate for compensation.

by jostmey 11y ago

kevhsu 11y ago

Well there's a world class university there...

meatysnapper 11y ago
Not to mention DJB. Wouldn't be the worst place to be a security minded company. EDIT: But yeah, Illinois :(
- zerohp 11y ago
  DJB is at University of Illinois-Chicago.
  - wyldfire 11y ago
    Some of you might be wondering: "Who is this DJB?" I was. Daniel J Bernstein. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Bernstein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Bernstein
- selectodude 11y ago
  He's in Chicago.

afridi 11y ago

Agreed that Urbana-Champaign might not be the best place to start a company but that doesn't mean students can't start ventures while on campus and then move them elsewhere after graduation. We've been seeing that a lot recently. Additionally, there are some benefits for startups that stay in town. Rent is extremely cheap (you can get your own bedroom in an apartment for ~$300/month) and you get access to a lot of talented students coming out of the university.

skynetv2 11y ago

I beg to differ. U-C is an excellent place. I dont think you have ever been there to say that. Its very affordable. You want to spend millions on rent or hire your staff? college town - perfect for those college grads to entertain themselves after work Hire students from UIUC, Parkland, ISU, and few other campuses around. Not great restaurants but pretty good variety of cuisines Chicago is less than 2 hours away by car no sitting in traffic for hours every day only drawback is you cant jump companies every 6 months air connectivity is limited but Bloomington next door has decent options excellent place to have a family and raise children Yahoo is increasing its presence in Champaign, so is Intel, Caterpillar, and a few more. I know they are not startups but there is a reason why they are growing there.

hcrisp 11y ago
Yahoo moved their Hadoop analytics group from CA to IL at least partially due to huge turnover. Since moving they have not lost "quite" as many people. UIUC is also where the transistor was invented, and it the home of NCSA and HDF Group. In my opinion, it has definitely contributed to computer science and scientific computing everywhere.
- shostack 11y ago
  What do you think accounted for the huge turnover and why moving from CA to IL reduced that? Less competitive job options in IL that made the opportunities look more attractive?
  - hcrisp 11y ago
    Perhaps the stability of the Midwest and a culture unlike Silicon Valley where folks move jobs every two to three years. There does seem to be more loyalty in IL, and the calmer pace may encourage more long-term planning?
    - shostack 11y ago
      Honestly, I spent most of my life in Chicago and only recently moved out to the Bay. I can't say in a major metro like that there is any more inherent loyalty. In many industries the only way to get ahead is to change jobs every couple years to make sure you stay at market rate for compensation.