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And how is it worth $50k to make it harder to raise the $500k+ you'll probably need to build your company?
by brandnewlow 15y ago
And how is it worth $50k to make it harder to raise the $500k+ you'll probably need to build your company?
- firefoxman1 15y agoCould you elaborate on how it would make it harder to raise more in the future?
- wtvanhest 15y agoNo VCs in St Louis.
- sachinag 15y agoNot true. I worked at one! However, it's fair to say there are no VCs in St. Louis that focus on consumer-facing technology companies. That said, St. Louis isn't impossible. Strangeloop STL is one of the hands-down, bar none, best conferences in the country each year; Slicehost did quite well for themselves from there; Jack Dorsey goes back home all the time (a co-founder of Square is from the Lou, and the swipe-powered dongle technology comes out of Wash U); and it's not like Chicago's all that far away.
- wtvanhest 15y agoYes, there are VCs in almost every major city, and I was definitely exaggerating, but the number of VCs in cities like St Louis is laughable compared with the valley. By the time you move a team you may exceed $50,000 in expenses. Anyone who is really serious will not take $50,000 to move to St. Louis. And of course there are exceptions, like someone who has family in St. Louis, or someone who does know investors there etc.
- bpodgursky 15y ago1) you don't need $500k+ in funding to build a successful software company. 2) this is especially true living in a part of the country with a reasonable cost of living. Somewhere like Missouri, $50k is two reasonable years of runway for a single 20-something (even in a metro area like St Louis, you'll be able to rent for ~$400 .) 3) it's pretty ridiculous (and arrogant) to assume that nowhere else in the country can you get investors.
- philwelch 15y agoIf you're a one-man shop, there's little point taking any funding, and it's doubtful even these guys would fund you.
- ArchGrants 15y agoActually, if you're a sole entrepreneur with a great idea or disruptive venture, we want to read your submissions!
- brandnewlow 15y agoIf you're raising $50k, you'll probably want to raise $500k if things go well. Doing that in STL is unquestionably harder in STL than SV.