5 ms·

Seven Reasons Tech Start-Ups Are Setting Up Shop in New York

32 points by ssclafani 16y ago

alexbiz 16y ago
One comment...Wall Street doesn't have a choke-hold on technical talent. For instance, most (I'm confident to say above 90%) people recruited by banking programs cannot write a single line of code. Excel macros don't count.
- MediaSquirrel 16y ago
  Yeah, i think he misunderstood my point just slightly, which is really that there's not enough serious dev talent that in NYC that actually wants to go into startups. Wall Street is not the only cause, but is a major factor. Ironically, I intro'd that reporter to 60% of the people in the story he quoted, including Carter Cleveland and Cody Brown.
  - carterac 16y ago
    Whenever people ask me who does our PR, I just refer them to Matt.
  - jasonjei 16y ago
    NYC programming talent is centered around enterprisey stuff. Audit trails, triggers, transactions, logs, SOAP, COBOL, messaging platforms/queues, XML, Java, and the like. It's high-talentstuff, but stuff that many in Valley aren't interested. Start-ups in NYC are increasing. Union Square Ventures is probably a good reason for the push of NYC software startups.
  - cageface 16y ago
    I've been keeping an eye on NYC job postings lately with the idea of switching coasts but I haven't seen that many. What are some good ones that currently need people?
    - dspeyer 16y ago
      There's always Google. The hiring never stops.
      - cageface 16y ago
        That's definitely an option but I'd much rather get in early on something new.
        toddml 16y ago
        bit.ly is always looking for good people. Take a look at our jobs page, and shoot us a resume if you think you qualify. http://bit.ly/jobs http://bit.ly/jobs
- starsky 16y ago
  Right. All that C++ code for high frequency trading is written by "banking program" employees who cannot write a single line of code. What planet are you from ?
- lolhn 16y ago
  I know Erlang, Haskell, Scala, C++ and Java hackers with jobs in finance. Not people who know them a little, true expert hackers.
jasonjei 16y ago
<rant> Why is it that everyone is so concerned about where to start? Location is important, but having a product out, or at least a prototype available, is more important. You can do this anywhere, and when you get seed money or funding later, you can move to somewhere glamorous. It's like moving to Hollywood because you want to be an actor or writer. If you're the coder--especially if you're the coding founder--you can make the basic prototype first. Show people the value of your code then move after you've convinced them it's golden. If you're not bringing money in or if you don't have a product yet, moving to another place will just burn up money. You want to build your product and maximize what you can do with it instead of facing money troubles the minute you move. </rant>
- nickpinkston 16y ago
  This is the classic Dan Pink argument against Richard Florida's. Pink: "place doesn't matter, the internet is everywhere". Florida: "The internet is everywhere, but local culture is important." "You can do this anywhere" is not at all true. I think we'd admit that being in at least a tier 2 city is a necessity or at least VERY advantageous. Outside support (your "seed money") and chance are a big deal, and you don't get that in Small Town, USA. Yes, a lone programmer with the internet isn't an island, but a peninsula isn't awesome either.
- carterac 16y ago
  I disagree. You're not appreciating the values of serendipity, creativity, and culture that you gain from living in an exciting and dense place like NYC. While seemingly intangible, I believe that these qualities lead to more exciting and innovative ideas in the long run. And NYC's dense and supportive startup community makes it more likely that people will connect over these ideas and form teams that would never have met each other otherwise.
  - jasonjei 16y ago
    Actually, I don't believe I said _not_ to move at all. I said don't move until you're prepared. I'm giving this warning because many founders that I've spoken to only talk about the dream--then they move, and they find out it's not all that peachy. Cities like NYC and SF have tremendous cultural value and produce awesome products and have tons of talented people. The whole idea of moving is to attract the best and brightest to your team. Move when you're ready. The city pace moves fast, and so will your project too. If you move about a plan, prototype, or direction, you'll find the difficulty of whatever it is you're trying to accomplish compounded.
joshklein 16y ago
I assume this article was submitted for the closing argument, which is pure gold: "Not so fast… Matt Mireles, the founder and CEO of the video transcription service SpeakerText, started his company in his Harlem apartment but recently jumped ship for the Valley. Mireles said he’s making the move because of a “chokehold” he believes Wall Street has on technical talent in New York. In his experience, entrepreneurs are stuck fighting over a few start-up-minded developers. That said, Mireles admits his long-term plan is to eventually return to New York. “If I wanted to be where there are more hot girls and nightlife I wouldn’t be in Mountainview,” Mireles said. “But I’m doing this [move to California] so in five years time I can live in New York in a big pimped out loft or something.”"
SkyMarshal 16y ago
"7) The anti-B.S. factor: Silicon Valley is a town where the tech industry dominates the conversation. In sharp contrast, New York is home to many industries so it’s difficult for an entrepreneur to get caught up in what the investor Fred Wilson calls an “echo-chamber groupthink.” Bottom line — entrepreneurs have to be creative and can’t get caught up in their bubble." I found this interesting, as my own echo-chamber-group-think radar is sometimes set off by things I hear coming out of the Valley scene. For example, some aspects of social media remind me of the original dotcom boom. I don't live there though, so what does the HN crowd think about that, especially Valley denizens? As a side note there are clear exceptions, like Ycominbator's diverse portfolio and wish list (http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html), among others.
- whakojacko 16y ago
  Firstoff, Silicon Valley isn't a "town." Secondly, I hate how articles (this one included) talk about new NY startups and how they are so different from ones in the Bay. While there is definitely some degree of truth to that, a lot of their examples focus on companies such as Tumblr and Foursquare, which seem like complete stereotypes of the current SV bubble: Consumer-oriented social platforms that are heavy on TechCrunch posts and light on revenue. Not that the the Bay Area doesn't have lots of those too, but if you want to talk about how "different" the NY startup scene is I think 4Sq is a terrible example. Gilt is a much better example.
pmjoyce 16y ago
Sort of off topic question but does anyone know why the second "t" character in the last paragraph is rendering as a "†" (Dagger, U+2020)? Is this part of a digital watermark or something? "Matt Mireles, the founder and CEO of †he video transcription service SpeakerText" edit: spelling
- mansilla 16y ago
  Hilarious. I was just looking at the same thing and thinking of the Praetorian Pi symbol in that epic film, "The Net"
lucifer 16y ago
The echo chamber is very important and as with inbreeding appreciated not for its expected failures but rather for exceptional specimens that narrowly and forcefully focus the group thought's essential truth (there's always a germinal factual core somewhere in there) and approach. We do not have an echo chamber in NYC. But that's because we don't have petri dishes.

32 points by ssclafani 16y ago

One comment...Wall Street doesn't have a choke-hold on technical talent. For instance, most (I'm confident to say above 90%) people recruited by banking programs cannot write a single line of code. Excel macros don't count.

MediaSquirrel 16y ago
Yeah, i think he misunderstood my point just slightly, which is really that there's not enough serious dev talent that in NYC that actually wants to go into startups. Wall Street is not the only cause, but is a major factor. Ironically, I intro'd that reporter to 60% of the people in the story he quoted, including Carter Cleveland and Cody Brown.
- carterac 16y ago
  Whenever people ask me who does our PR, I just refer them to Matt.
- jasonjei 16y ago
  NYC programming talent is centered around enterprisey stuff. Audit trails, triggers, transactions, logs, SOAP, COBOL, messaging platforms/queues, XML, Java, and the like. It's high-talentstuff, but stuff that many in Valley aren't interested. Start-ups in NYC are increasing. Union Square Ventures is probably a good reason for the push of NYC software startups.
- cageface 16y ago
  I've been keeping an eye on NYC job postings lately with the idea of switching coasts but I haven't seen that many. What are some good ones that currently need people?
  - dspeyer 16y ago
    There's always Google. The hiring never stops.
    - cageface 16y ago
      That's definitely an option but I'd much rather get in early on something new.
      - toddml 16y ago
        bit.ly is always looking for good people. Take a look at our jobs page, and shoot us a resume if you think you qualify. http://bit.ly/jobs http://bit.ly/jobs
starsky 16y ago
Right. All that C++ code for high frequency trading is written by "banking program" employees who cannot write a single line of code. What planet are you from ?
lolhn 16y ago
I know Erlang, Haskell, Scala, C++ and Java hackers with jobs in finance. Not people who know them a little, true expert hackers.

jasonjei 16y ago

<rant> Why is it that everyone is so concerned about where to start? Location is important, but having a product out, or at least a prototype available, is more important. You can do this anywhere, and when you get seed money or funding later, you can move to somewhere glamorous. It's like moving to Hollywood because you want to be an actor or writer. If you're the coder--especially if you're the coding founder--you can make the basic prototype first. Show people the value of your code then move after you've convinced them it's golden. If you're not bringing money in or if you don't have a product yet, moving to another place will just burn up money. You want to build your product and maximize what you can do with it instead of facing money troubles the minute you move. </rant>

nickpinkston 16y ago
This is the classic Dan Pink argument against Richard Florida's. Pink: "place doesn't matter, the internet is everywhere". Florida: "The internet is everywhere, but local culture is important." "You can do this anywhere" is not at all true. I think we'd admit that being in at least a tier 2 city is a necessity or at least VERY advantageous. Outside support (your "seed money") and chance are a big deal, and you don't get that in Small Town, USA. Yes, a lone programmer with the internet isn't an island, but a peninsula isn't awesome either.
carterac 16y ago
I disagree. You're not appreciating the values of serendipity, creativity, and culture that you gain from living in an exciting and dense place like NYC. While seemingly intangible, I believe that these qualities lead to more exciting and innovative ideas in the long run. And NYC's dense and supportive startup community makes it more likely that people will connect over these ideas and form teams that would never have met each other otherwise.
- jasonjei 16y ago
  Actually, I don't believe I said _not_ to move at all. I said don't move until you're prepared. I'm giving this warning because many founders that I've spoken to only talk about the dream--then they move, and they find out it's not all that peachy. Cities like NYC and SF have tremendous cultural value and produce awesome products and have tons of talented people. The whole idea of moving is to attract the best and brightest to your team. Move when you're ready. The city pace moves fast, and so will your project too. If you move about a plan, prototype, or direction, you'll find the difficulty of whatever it is you're trying to accomplish compounded.

joshklein 16y ago

I assume this article was submitted for the closing argument, which is pure gold: "Not so fast… Matt Mireles, the founder and CEO of the video transcription service SpeakerText, started his company in his Harlem apartment but recently jumped ship for the Valley. Mireles said he’s making the move because of a “chokehold” he believes Wall Street has on technical talent in New York. In his experience, entrepreneurs are stuck fighting over a few start-up-minded developers. That said, Mireles admits his long-term plan is to eventually return to New York. “If I wanted to be where there are more hot girls and nightlife I wouldn’t be in Mountainview,” Mireles said. “But I’m doing this [move to California] so in five years time I can live in New York in a big pimped out loft or something.”"

SkyMarshal 16y ago

"7) The anti-B.S. factor: Silicon Valley is a town where the tech industry dominates the conversation. In sharp contrast, New York is home to many industries so it’s difficult for an entrepreneur to get caught up in what the investor Fred Wilson calls an “echo-chamber groupthink.” Bottom line — entrepreneurs have to be creative and can’t get caught up in their bubble." I found this interesting, as my own echo-chamber-group-think radar is sometimes set off by things I hear coming out of the Valley scene. For example, some aspects of social media remind me of the original dotcom boom. I don't live there though, so what does the HN crowd think about that, especially Valley denizens? As a side note there are clear exceptions, like Ycominbator's diverse portfolio and wish list (http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html http://ycombinator.com/ideas.html), among others.

whakojacko 16y ago
Firstoff, Silicon Valley isn't a "town." Secondly, I hate how articles (this one included) talk about new NY startups and how they are so different from ones in the Bay. While there is definitely some degree of truth to that, a lot of their examples focus on companies such as Tumblr and Foursquare, which seem like complete stereotypes of the current SV bubble: Consumer-oriented social platforms that are heavy on TechCrunch posts and light on revenue. Not that the the Bay Area doesn't have lots of those too, but if you want to talk about how "different" the NY startup scene is I think 4Sq is a terrible example. Gilt is a much better example.

pmjoyce 16y ago

Sort of off topic question but does anyone know why the second "t" character in the last paragraph is rendering as a "†" (Dagger, U+2020)? Is this part of a digital watermark or something? "Matt Mireles, the founder and CEO of †he video transcription service SpeakerText" edit: spelling

mansilla 16y ago
Hilarious. I was just looking at the same thing and thinking of the Praetorian Pi symbol in that epic film, "The Net"

lucifer 16y ago

The echo chamber is very important and as with inbreeding appreciated not for its expected failures but rather for exceptional specimens that narrowly and forcefully focus the group thought's essential truth (there's always a germinal factual core somewhere in there) and approach. We do not have an echo chamber in NYC. But that's because we don't have petri dishes.