3 ms·

> You can't just buy a startup community I don't know that I've seen it attempted before. More generally, I think this is a very interesting development. As

> You can't just buy a startup community I don't know that I've seen it attempted before. More generally, I think this is a very interesting development. As developers move into the cloud, staying in places like silicon valley requires a burn that might not be necessary. Verrry interesting.

Harkins 15y ago
http://StartupChile.com http://StartupChile.com is doing something quite similar. Dozens of startups get reimbursed for up to $40k of expenses.
wheels 15y ago
There have been a lot of places that have tried it recently. There have been startup "accelerators" and seed funding thingers in non-hub cities popping up like wildfire. I know of programs that have run in Toronto, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Edinburgh, Santiago and there are many others that I've forgotten. Some of those had public funding. I think the key bit in tptacek's comment is, "not for any amount we've seen spent to date". You probably could buy a startup scene. But not for a laughable $500k. Both pg and Brad Feld have written on such. The gist, from memory, is that it'd take a whole lot more money and a couple decades.
- Rariel 15y ago
  What program like this exists in DC?
  - wheels 15y ago
    LaunchBox Digital started there, then moved to Durham, then moved back to traditional angel investing. In fact, most of the programs that I listed above at this point are defunct, which was kind of what I was getting at.
- vnchr 15y ago
  Yeah, what's key here is that there's more going on then just AG. I'm working with a group to launch a Founder Institute chapter here, for example. And we're working hand-in-hand with AG and a new seed fund that's popped up in the last year. No one initiative can build a community--rather AG's grants are a fruit of the community being built rather than a seed expected to start the whole thing off.
vnchr 15y ago
Yeah, I moved from NYC to STL a year ago. The rent differential was AMAZING :) Suddenly, the basics of life weren't a struggle. Having a community of entrepreneurs around, however, has been a struggle. I started an all night programming group that meets once a month (meetup.com/allnightlong) and a social network for entrepreneurs (startlouis.com) that have helped address the community problem, scratching my own itch. Funding environment is getting better here, too. But it's far from perfect.

Harkins 15y ago

http://StartupChile.com http://StartupChile.com is doing something quite similar. Dozens of startups get reimbursed for up to $40k of expenses.

wheels 15y ago

There have been a lot of places that have tried it recently. There have been startup "accelerators" and seed funding thingers in non-hub cities popping up like wildfire. I know of programs that have run in Toronto, DC, Chicago, Atlanta, Edinburgh, Santiago and there are many others that I've forgotten. Some of those had public funding. I think the key bit in tptacek's comment is, "not for any amount we've seen spent to date". You probably could buy a startup scene. But not for a laughable $500k. Both pg and Brad Feld have written on such. The gist, from memory, is that it'd take a whole lot more money and a couple decades.

Rariel 15y ago
What program like this exists in DC?
- wheels 15y ago
  LaunchBox Digital started there, then moved to Durham, then moved back to traditional angel investing. In fact, most of the programs that I listed above at this point are defunct, which was kind of what I was getting at.
vnchr 15y ago
Yeah, what's key here is that there's more going on then just AG. I'm working with a group to launch a Founder Institute chapter here, for example. And we're working hand-in-hand with AG and a new seed fund that's popped up in the last year. No one initiative can build a community--rather AG's grants are a fruit of the community being built rather than a seed expected to start the whole thing off.

vnchr 15y ago

Yeah, I moved from NYC to STL a year ago. The rent differential was AMAZING :) Suddenly, the basics of life weren't a struggle. Having a community of entrepreneurs around, however, has been a struggle. I started an all night programming group that meets once a month (meetup.com/allnightlong) and a social network for entrepreneurs (startlouis.com) that have helped address the community problem, scratching my own itch. Funding environment is getting better here, too. But it's far from perfect.