At this point, my costs are sunk. There's no real benefit to moving pre-emptively - unless I can find a full-time developer who wants to jump into Dawdle. The

At this point, my costs are sunk. There's no real benefit to moving pre-emptively - unless I can find a full-time developer who wants to jump into Dawdle. Then I'd move anywhere in the lower 49. (Sorry, Alaskans.) Yeah, I've been saying that "Chicago is the next Detroit" to kind of drive home the fact that this region isn't well-equipped to deal with non-linearbusiness models (the "manufacturing mentality"). Instead of trying to really go after a change in environment (like North Carolina did over a 20-30 year period with the Research Triangle), we get World Business Chicago throwing money at firms to establish corporate headquarters here. (I admit the Detroit thing is hyperbole; a better example is St. Louis. If we get the Olympics, it'll be Chicago's last hurrah the way the 1904 Games were for St. Louis.) As for VC, well, I used to work for a VC shop, so I'm not anti-VC at all. I don't blame them for their approach to Chicago; it's up to Chicagoans to get the fuck out. I started here because I wanted to have a big successful startup, give back to Illinois by providing jobs and opportunities here (I went to IMSA), and then become Governor or Senator or something. Ah, the idealism of youth (I was 26 when I started Dawdle). Also, please e-mail me (in profile); I'd love to get beers and compare notes.