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Silicon Valley: A few exciting new business models that actually work
- stcredzero 15y agoCoworking, as commonly envisioned, doesn't seem to work so well in a geographically dispersed city like Houston. Commute distances and commuting are too large, and the population of freelancers and the self-employed is dispersed enough to be a big challenge to the benefits of coworking. (Serendipity being chief among these) This is despite Houston's being the 4th largest city in the US. That said, the resulting isolation is still a big problem for freelancers and the self-employed here. Perhaps widespread retail coworking centers with select services (like high-end telecommuting) could work. They'd have to offer something above and beyond the local Starbucks.
- hkarthik 15y ago+1 to that. We have the same problem here in Dallas. Coworking facilities are centered around downtown and serve the freelancers and creative types more. Those of us working remotely with families tend to live in the suburbs farther out where the schools are better and safer. Harder to justify the cost and commute for coworking facilities under those circumstances. Much easier to go to coffeeshops :)
- demian 15y agoSuburban areas and coworking facilities seems such a good combination, I don't understand why it isn't common.
- stcredzero 15y agoLow density * long-tail audience = low margins.
- hkarthik 15y agoRight. I don't think it's possible to make it profitable without a corporate sponsor or heavy subsidies from the local city government for the first few years.
- philwelch 15y agoIn other words, dysfunctional city centers == why we can't have nice things.
- hkarthik 15y agoIn the US, even the most progressive city centers like SF and NYC are still dysfunctional for families due to public schooling being poor in all but the wealthiest neighborhoods. My family was ready and willing to downsize to less than half the space we have now to live in the city. But we can't stomach 4 times the cost for the smaller housing plus a lottery system for public schools for our kids.
- zackzackzack 15y agoAll of these models rely on physical components in the user experience. Good code is just one small piece of the startups here. Maybe a factor in why these models are seeing success.
- adaml_623 15y agoZipcar has just bought Streetcar over here in the UK. Streetcar has been operating for at least 6 years. It's a cool idea but it is hardly new.