Well put. A problem many who are starting out face is contingency if things go wrong i.e. startup fails. It is easy to say do another one, but without funding/

Well put. A problem many who are starting out face is contingency if things go wrong i.e. startup fails. It is easy to say do another one, but without funding/investors this can be hard and people must eat and bills must be paid. Hence with .NET being the choice of most businesses (as most they are already tooled with MS products etc), going .NET initially also allows the fallback position of easier consulting/contract work at times when money is needed. However, ultimately the choice should be on what allows you to meet and iterate upon your objectives in the fastest way possible, as the best way to stay live is to be able to adapt and change and exploit markets rapidly. Hence with this in mind, I would opt for Ruby as imho it provides a better grounding into architectures and pratices that will best serve you in both the short and longer terms. Hope this is of help :)