2 ms·

At least in New York, it's not panning out that way, unfortunately. This economy has been bad for startups-- maybe not as awful as for everyone else, but still

At least in New York, it's not panning out that way, unfortunately. This economy has been bad for startups-- maybe not as awful as for everyone else, but still undesirable. The dramatically increased difficulty of getting money (clients or investors) is much greater than the discount (maybe 15 or 20%) at which you can now hire talented people. Also, real estate (which is disastrously expensive in New York) hasn't fallen fast enough, which is unfortunate but expected (real estate takes a long time to fall, even when money runs dry). In general, awful times lead to conglomeration, not liberation and small-scale organic growth. People who have stable jobs are clinging to them, and those who don't have them are willing to take big-company jobs at a discount, but there isn't a huge rush of interest in pre-money startups. Many of the original European nobles (although, in practice, it was often possible to buy a title after the Renaissance) are the descendants of those who could offer protection (in exchange for slave labor) after the Fall of the Roman Empire.

hga 17y ago
Hmmm, many of the arguments for NYC not having a good culture for startups would seem to be even stronger in this sort of period ... but would that be true for other areas, especially ones with a good track record (well, Silicon Valley and Boston)? Your point about awful times is well taken, but I don't think we're there yet, and it's not clear to me we'll get there anytime soon. E.g. Japan's two Lost Decades aren't necessarily quite "awful times". E.g. before we get to the Fall of the Roman Empire, where from what I'd read serfdom started for the reason you describe as a means to escape the exactions of the falling Western Empire (e.g. impossible taxation, a law that required people to follow the career of their father (to prevent escaping the former), etc.), we could look at the Great Depression, where at the time the USDA estimated 1/4 of the US was malnourished, which was confirmed by WWII conscription. We'll see.

hga 17y ago

Hmmm, many of the arguments for NYC not having a good culture for startups would seem to be even stronger in this sort of period ... but would that be true for other areas, especially ones with a good track record (well, Silicon Valley and Boston)? Your point about awful times is well taken, but I don't think we're there yet, and it's not clear to me we'll get there anytime soon. E.g. Japan's two Lost Decades aren't necessarily quite "awful times". E.g. before we get to the Fall of the Roman Empire, where from what I'd read serfdom started for the reason you describe as a means to escape the exactions of the falling Western Empire (e.g. impossible taxation, a law that required people to follow the career of their father (to prevent escaping the former), etc.), we could look at the Great Depression, where at the time the USDA estimated 1/4 of the US was malnourished, which was confirmed by WWII conscription. We'll see.