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Exploring Startup Geography - Atlanta and Silicon Valley
- rjurney 17y agoThis is the first in a multi-part series. I'm staying the week in Palo Alto, talking to entrepreneurs, investors, etc. and trying to capture the 'Valley Advantage'
- pxlpshr 17y agoThis is awesome. You have a free place to stay in Austin, TX for a week on West 5th street if you'd like to extend your research. Please contact me if interested. This town has it's edge in B2B but there are a lot of people here seeking to add B2C to that list (the fun stuff), especially given UT is a campus of 50k young bloods. ATX has a low cost of living/business, great public schools, healthy state economy, no state income tax, and liberal-centric social policies. We produce a lot of talent @ UT, but it's milked out of here by GOOG, AAPL, MS, SUN, etc. as soon as it graduates. TX doesn't have quite the goods as SF (especially in terms of financing — but easy to bootstrap), however Austin is a city most people move here and end up not leaving.
- chaostheory 17y agoSpeaking as a former ATL resident and ramblin wreck, I think you have to stay in the valley at least a couple of months to really get the feel. I'm not really sure how much you can get in a week. In my opinion, it's way too short. I would say the same thing of Austin and Seattle too.
- rjurney 17y agoI respectfully disagree. Its like I entered the Magic Kingdom - this place is disneyland for computer dorks. It hits you immediately.
- iamelgringo 17y agoEnjoy your stay. If you're still in town on Tuesday, we have Hackers and Founders scheduled in Mountain view: www.hackersandfounders.com . I'd be happy to buy you a beer.
- b8sell 17y agoCan't wait to read the next one
- plucas 17y agoInteresting - A professor I had last semester is mentioned on that page.
- quizbiz 17y agoDoes anyone know of Tech Square does anything with Emory, or is the start up culture confined to Georgia Tech?
- Oompa 17y agoTech Square is part of the Georgia Tech campus, so I would assume it's pretty confined to Georgia Tech.
- mattculbreth 17y agoSome of the biotech companies work with both Emory and Tech. That's a couple blocks away though.
- rjurney 17y agoAny startup/university activity that I'm aware of is all associated with Georgia Tech. Tech Square is the community's core. But I'm not too familiar with biotech startups.
- rjurney 17y agopg, were you cycling in Palo Alto today? We thought we saw you cycle past.
- funkymonkey 17y agoI often wonder if those of ya'll (sorry, couldn't resist) in the Bay Area understand that this anxiety exists. It does, and it drives many of us to drop our drawl and head westward. I worked for a very well-funded startup in DC a few years back that failed miserably. When the end was nigh, I overheard C-levels say things like "you know, I can't help but think that location played a role in this." Did we have money? Yes. Did we have talent? Yes. Could our location change the fact that our management made stupid decisions? No. But, when you're looking for excuses the location factor is always there. And, as tech entrepreneur on the east coast it's always in your mind as you debate your next big thing. I'd be very interested to know if those of you who are in the Bay Area with successful startups feel like your same company (funding, employees, etc) would be as successful in a different location.
- rjurney 17y agoSo far... from the interviews I have conducted, the answer is usually "No."