Since moving to New York from London in 1990, I have become a firm convert to the idea that New York is the center of the universe. London, Paris, Berlin, Mumbai are all pretty great, but if you like cities, New York is it. So it has always been a source of frustration for me - and other New Yorkers - that our great city is such a slouch when it comes to high tech startups compared to boring suburbs like San Jose and Palo Alto, and even provincial towns such as Boston and Austin. Well, I finally figured out the problem. It's called Wall Street.
Sure, Wall Street is what makes New York great, or at least rich. So why is it the problem? Two reasons. First, Wall Street absorbs too much of the talent. Second, Wall Street generates a short term "in a New York minute" mindset.
Before looking at the speed bumps, here are three reasons why New York should be the center of tech/media startup scene:
Lets look at why these three things matter, and in particular, why they matter to the next phase of web technology.
New York Advantage #1 - cool. Do I need to be so uncool as to list all the reasons why New York is cool? It is cool in a way that Los Angeles, with its movies and music scene misses. It's the edgy edge. London has it as well. Berlin has it. It's a city thing. Sorry, San Jose and Palo Alto, suburbs are not cool. Provincial cities like Austin and Boston are also not cool. Why does this matter to web technology? Web 2.0 is a consumer wave. The web really is replacing, surrounding, augmenting and extending all traditional forms of entertainment. And to make it in entertainment, you have to be cool, or hot, or whatever is the cool or hot word. Cool is a sustainable competitive advantage. No person can be cool for very long, but a city can be cool for a long time. New York is as cool today as it was when Frank Sinatra was doing his thing or when the New York Dolls were inventing punk music. New York has that unique mix of media, fashion, and money that enables cool to thrive.
To see the difference, look at two contenders in what is possibly the hottest consumer web technology wave right now - live online video - Ustream.TV from the Valley and Mogulus.com from New York.
Ustream.TV seems to have the edge if you look at the numbers. But, it just looks so corporate. It lists all these stars that have channels and you cannot even click on them. The traditional big money institutional VCs are pitching at the already established online stars, such as Chris Pirillo. Yes I know it sounds absurd, outside of The Kingdom of Geek, to talk of Chris Pirillo as an established star. But in this very, very early phase of live video online, his niche audience of early adopters does matter. But, as Hollywood knows, stars are fickle, they move to whatever channel, studio, network or whatever that gives them the best deal, as they should.
The "network" matters. It has to have an identity. People have to make a decision about which URL to visit. Live video is a totally different medium from archive video, where YouTube reigns supreme. You "tune in" to a network that suits your style. Just like you hang out in MySpace or Facebook or Bebo or whatever depending on what suits your style. This is about making a fashion statement.
You can see the difference when you look at Mogulus.com, New York's entry in the live video space. It has that rough, street feel - and all cool fashion comes from the street. But don't confuse that with lack of design. This is a very carefully thought out, well executed design. They don't say anything about their funding other than that it comes from "private investors." I mean, who cares? It also has a sense of humor and personality.
So cool does matter and New York has it.
But somebody has to pay for cool and that brings us to New York Advantage #2 - clients. Specifically the big consumer advertising budgets, which in America means Finance, Fashion, and Pharma and all three are found in New York. OK, Pharma is across the tunnel into decidedly uncool New Jersey, but that's a short hop for an entrepreneur and the Pharma guys want to make the trip to Manhattan (to catch a show and try the latest restaurant). Madison Avenue, in all its old and new guises, serves these big consumer advertising clients and Madison Avenue is in New York - but then you knew that right?
And finally - New York Advantage #3 - money. Or as the Grateful Dead put it - "New York has the ways and means." Yes, startups flock to Sand Hill Road when they want the money. But guess where the Sand Hill Road crowd comes when they want money? Yes, New York, that's right. This is the big money place. This is where you go through the likes of Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley to tap the biggest, deepest, most liquid equity markets in the world. This is where you find the guys who look after pension funds, who put the money into those Sand Hill Road funds. This - or maybe Greenwich, an hour away from Manhattan - is where the Hedge Funds trade the world.
The odd thing here, is that big money currently makes a bi-coastal round trip. It starts in New York, gets sent to Sand Hill Road, where the top tier VC funds distribute it to a few startups who, when they make it big, make the pilgrimage back to New York to meet with Goldman Sachs/Morgan Stanley who will give them their golden ticket, otherwise known as the IPO. Yes, I know that last part of the circuit has been unwired recently, but that will change. Wall Street just needs some Web 2.0 ventures that are pulling in profits.
This bi-coastal round trip may be about to change. The reason is that this wave is more about media and less about tech. We tend to bang those two words together now as tech is going consumer and is funded by advertising - which sounds like media. In the tech venture world, the Valley reigned supreme because the ecosystem was there. You built a chip that went into a computer that made it big because of the operating system and all the people who mattered in that ecosystem hung around in the same zip code.
In a more open standards, API-driven world, that physical proximity matters less. In a media world, where "let's do lunch" is the social lubricant, proximity does still matter and New York (and Los Angeles) has that ecosystem - Ad Agencies, Fashion, Consumer Advertisers, Media.
So you get it? I love New York. So, just what's the problem?
I believe that the New York venture capital situation is improving for the next wave of technology-driven media companies, though. You can see that when you look at Mogulus. They have raised $1.2m from angels. They don't say who the angels are (New Yorkers like a bit of privacy) but I suspect that they are comfortable with a media venture in a way that they would not be with a tech venture. "TV?" "Yep, I get that." Media of all types has always been funded out of New York. Now that the web is officially media, the web will get funded out of New York.
And on the talent front, Mogulus has an interesting one-liner at the bottom of their Corporate Facts:
Corporate Facts
This is not about India, it is about the ability to build software using virtual teams. If that hot developer rejects your offer to join for $100k base because Morgan Stanley offered $140k plus cash bonuses, find the guy/gal in Boise, Idaho who thinks $100k is more than enough for a nice outdoorsy lifestyle, and your stock options give a shot at real money down the line. Yes, you may need a core team that's local, but you need less people.
Of course, if you want to know "The Secret to Hiring Great Developers," go to a Mogulus channel called "What's Up Silicon Alley." (Embedded below.)
What would really change the game would be if the NASDAQ IPO market opened up again for tech/media startups. It has been closed since Google came out. If ventures can get funded in New York all the way to profitability, the investment bankers can take over the next step, without any hand-over to the Valley. This is when the New York Hedge Funds and Private Equity players come in to fund from the venture phase through expansion to the stage where public market investors get interested. Then the Valley VC funds will set up offices in New York, just like they are doing in Israel, India, and China.
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What's holding up the NY tech scene? Uber-geeks (founders) don't want to live there. As Paul Graham has pointed out, geek nirvana is a lot closer to Portland, Oregon than Manhattan or West Hollywood.
The exception might be media-focused startups, which as you pointed out, may be the next big wave. Even so, as a geek myself, I can tell you I would never consider NY even for a moment. Based on several visits, I think it's overrated and not nearly as stimulating as a number of other cities such as Buenos Aires, Moscow, Shanghai or London to name a few.
Posted by: Dante | June 9, 2008 7:03 PM
Please. Just because New Yorkers think that their city is the center of the universe doesn't mean it's actually true. In the tech world especially, NYC is an afterthought.
You mentioned Silicon Valley, Boston, and Austin (the middle one clearly hurt), but there are numerous other hotbeds of tech -- Research Triangle Park (my home base), Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Munich, and many more.
New York has the same problem as LA. In tech, credibility is about skills and not image.
Posted by: Sarah O'Keefe | June 9, 2008 7:15 PM
Dante like most tourists my bet is that you're not seeing the real New York. Unlike the valley or Hollywood this is a multi-industry town (finance, media/advertising, fashion, non-profits, etc.) so the geek culture is very spread out. It's also spread out geographically too: An example of this is that Etsy is located in Brooklyn and you'll find IBM in Westchester.
Yes when you go to the valley it's very much an industry specific town so yes you do get that "geek nirvana" feeling. But geeks who live in New York aren't that shallow and want just a little bit more out of life than user group meetings every week. In fact for me the real attraction of New York is that it's a nirvana for the creative class (which is why I'm here).
Also frankly for that "geek nirvana" feeling I now get that via the internet thanks to websites like readwriteweb.com, podcasts and twitter. The age of everyone needing to live in one place or attend THE tradeshow (Comdex, MacWorld) is dead.
Posted by: Michael Pinto | June 9, 2008 7:37 PM
To add to the "What's the problem" list:
3. It's OK to fail in the Valley, not OK on Wall Street.
4. There are no great universities in Manhattan, there are three in the Bay Area - Stanford, Berkeley and USF (Medical field)
5. There is an entire army of low cost enablers - service firms - that can help get a startup off the ground in the Valley - NYC is too expensive and the enablers there won't do it for options.
6. The Valley is much closer to Asia and has deep ties to China (SF), India (the Valley and Fremont) and many other Asian communities. Asia is ascendant and is becoming the new global engine. NYC has lots of ties to old Europe. But hey, at least Fred Wilson is getting ready to spend some time there...in old Europe.
7. Sand Hill doesn't just go to Wall Street for dumb money - it goes to places like CalPERS - the largest pension fund in the United States, based in California.
So, enough for the moment. NYC is a great place for finance and ad agencies (for as long as NY-style ad agencies retain their power), it has some great real estate and a few standout VCs like Union Square. But it's got more problems than you mentioned, and nowhere does it have the vision to change the world. It just wants to milk what it knows for all the money it can.
Posted by: Don Jones | June 9, 2008 7:41 PM
But Sarah what culture has Seattle exported since the death of Kurt Cobain? Creative culture is just as valid as tech when measuring innovation. Slagging Hollywood for a lack of tech is missing the big picture: People who make tools need to understand that content isn't just a widget that you shove into a specification. In fact Hollywood came into existence because the creative class ran away from the patent obsessed techies (i.e. Thomas Edison) of the original film industry in here New York City exactly 100 years ago:
http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/edison_trust.htm
Posted by: Michael Pinto | June 9, 2008 7:55 PM
There's validity in the point that creative folks matter just as much as pure hackers in terms of startups. For that reason, NY, with it's money and panache, will always have some tech innovation going on. Simply put, it's a firmly established global city with a huge population. How can it lose?
But the entire SF Bay area (SF, Oakland, Silicon Valley) itself is 7 million strong and far more diverse than the suburban tech cluster around Stanford. There's DIY creative types in Oakland, plenty of Money and Media in SF and a paradise of natural beauty at our doorstep. Given the relative cost of living to NY (about the same altogether), being in the Bay Area is a no-brainer for most tech-minded folks.
Posted by: Dante | June 9, 2008 8:09 PM
its STANFORD BABY!!!!
although watch out for COLUMBIA MEDICAL sciences.. they get millions in revenue each year on patents and royalties.. there have been many startups but not necessary WEB 2.0.
Posted by: COP | June 9, 2008 8:51 PM
Another awesome rocking post, Bernard - I really liked this one!
I think Wall Street is #1. Real estate is #2 for both companies and startups. Not as much venture opportunities is certainly up there as well.
I don't agree with people re: quality of life. Young techies live on pizza, so that does not fly. Education is also questionable - Columbia ain't bad you know.
I think another problem is that in addition to Wall Street, NYC has also Advertising and Publishing. Plus big pharma is in NJ, so kinda of enough, I guess.
Posted by: Alex Iskold | June 9, 2008 9:59 PM
i think the clear answer atleast for Boston vs New York, is that New York does not have MIT Harvard BU BC and Northeastern. (not mention all the OTHER schools in Boston)
Posted by: fr4nk | June 9, 2008 10:12 PM
Umm, no great universities in Manhattan? Stanford may be the best University in the world (sorry, Harvard), but it can still be over-rated. It is not *the* cause. Columbia and NYU are at least as good as Stanford and Berkeley IMHO, if not in their CS PhD programs. Carnegie Mellon may actually be better and their is some Institute in Mass. that has first-rate PR. Some of the great US Universities are in Economic backwaters.
Others make some good points, but this whole argument makes NY sound as provincial as SV was when I moved from NYC to Palo Alto in the mid 90s. My sense is that NY always thought it to be the center of the Universe, but SV thought *it was* the Universe.
Here is my take: Many of the objections to NY ring true to me. Although writers like Saxenion (sp?) have tried to distinguish what makes SV great and Florida's Creative Class makes some contribution, it occurs to me that a completely under appreciated aspect to the success is this:
A social pull toward mentoring young talent sometimes without direct expectation of renumeration. Say 'entreprenurial energy' ten times fast, but it still will not explain how someone who made their $100M nut will sit down at a coffee shop with a wet-behind-the-years start-up CEO to help with strategy. NY (and Europe) may be forever hampered by this lack of social pressure to stay close to the wealth's power source: new ideas expressed in the form of new startups.
Posted by: orwell | June 9, 2008 10:13 PM
Bernard, every place that's not Silicon Valley but wants to be says stuff like this. "We have X, Y, Z factors so it's only a matter of time!" I admit New York has room to grow, I just don't see it becoming the center of the startup universe, even including the factors you mention.
Paul Graham has the best overall take-down of the New York startup scene.
Excerpt:
"Nerds don't care about glamour, so to them the appeal of New York is a mystery. People who like New York will pay a fortune for a small, dark, noisy apartment in order to live in a town where the cool people are really cool. A nerd looks at that deal and sees only: pay a fortune for a small, dark, noisy apartment."
Also, it's useful for your argument that you don't mention the urban charms of San Francisco or the East Bay, but I think a lot of your readers live in those places :)
Posted by: Eric Eldon | June 9, 2008 11:09 PM
If you're in SV, everyone around you seems to have a startup, which makes you think that you should have one too. NY will never have that - even if you moved all the startup people from SV to NY they would be easily outnumbered by people in other businesses.
Without that social pressure to get VC money and start something, you are left with the ideas that are good enough to be worth putting time into if you already have a good job on Wall Street. That means ideas where you know exactly how you will make money, which isn't entirely a bad thing.
I suspect that NY compares quite favorably to SV if you exclude the startups with lots of publicity but no clear path to profitability.
Posted by: Tom Clarkson | June 10, 2008 12:21 AM
One important thing to note is that the silicon valley is so full of tech companies because thats where it all started, plain and simple. Happenstance.
Had SUN, Oracle, Adobe, Intel, Apple, CISCO, etc all started around MIT in Boston instead of Stanford in Palo Alto, Boston would be the silicon valley.
So every person wanting to get a dot-com funded has to move to the silicon valley to get any heat from VCs or Google or anyone else.
Even Ustream. It was founded in Southern California then relocated to Northern California to be closer to core talent and closer to VC money.
I personally like the tech corporate culture in southern california better only because in the silicon valley the nerds are the cool kids, down here nobody cares about internet or tech. Makes it more fun. Also, we have more women at our parties. One thing the silicon valley, with all their money hasnt seemed to figure out.
Posted by: Misanthropy Today | June 10, 2008 12:30 AM
I'm going to concur with the idea that the expense of New York (and London) is what holds them back as tech start-up places. Higher rents, higher salaries, and their distractions are not attractions if you're working too hard to enjoy them.
When you talk of cultural edge or cool - that is actually the entrepreneurial side of these cities - art, music, publishing, fashion, advertising, and even web design.
I'd say that something like Mogulus is closer to those industries - it is what happens as the 'tech' aspect ceases to matter, and creative content does.
And yes, of course this is grand generalisation - I know the West Coast cities have their own creative scene, as does every major UK city outside London.
A final thought : Go back to the 60s, to the era whose values influenced the first generation of Silicon Valley pioneers, and look at the cultural difference then. Optimism vs cynicism, etc.
Posted by: JulesLt | June 10, 2008 12:48 AM
Why is finance in NYC? Critical mass. Why is tech in the valley? Critical mass.
"Cool" can be farmed out to a NY web design firm (or an LA, London, or Tokyo one). It's the backend, the design, and the users that matter. The "coolest" two properties of the last few years came from LA and Boston (MySpace & Facebook).
If NY wants a real tech scene it needs real geeks. But they like living someplace where you can have a pick-up D&D game or a Foo camp. So why the valley? Critical mass. Also- it doesn't snow there.
Maybe they should open a Fry's in Time Square.
Posted by: jay | June 10, 2008 2:20 AM
You shouldn't make historical comparisons unless you can demonstrate that the context of New York City in 1940s, 1970s and 2000s have similarities. Do you really think the New York Dolls could "invent" punk in New York today? They'd have to be the Jersey City Dolls if anything. Was Frank Sinatra successful only because of wealth in New York City?
It's all about the ecosystem, and New York City verges on monoculture. Wealth is destroying New York City and turning it into a cultural and social echo chamber. Young and creative people cannot afford to both live and to take risks there.
I think the other commenters are right to point out the links between Asia and California, critical mass of tech workers, and real estate as the factors that prevent NYC from attaining primacy in technology, too. However, there's just no comparing old, authentic, diverse New York City with today's simulacrum.
Posted by: Benjamin Doherty | June 10, 2008 4:38 AM
Old Europe? Please. What does that even mean?
Posted by: Rich | June 10, 2008 4:54 AM
# 16 Benjamin, I agree that NYC has become a bit wealthy & bland in recent years, so any edgy new stuff has been pushed out into the boroughs and comes into Manhattan to find clients. But it still survives in interesting pockets (occasionally protected by rent controlled apartments)
# 15 Jay, I do not think that cool design can be outsourced. If it was for the packaging on a shrink-wrapped PC package sure, but not for a web play. Design (aka usability) is core, core, core. One guy in SV who really understands this is called Steve Jobs.
The idea that SV has a hold on connections with Asia is way wrong. NY has a big Indian and Chinese community and a few hours more on a 'plane is hardly a deciding factor.
When it comes to globalization, NY does have the edge with European connections (viva la Eurotrash baby).
Posted by: bernard lunn | June 10, 2008 5:03 AM
"One important thing to note is that the silicon valley is so full of tech companies because thats where it all started, plain and simple."
And I guess IBM, Motorola, AT&T, Lucent, and plenty of other blue chips dont account for anything.
I've lived in NYC my entire life. Although it may not cater to the "startup" environment as real estate prices are extremely high, the amount of available resources (including capital) is far beyond anything SV could dream of. Lets stop just looking at whats on Sand Hill for a moment.
There is more money in New York than can ever be dreamed of in all of Silicon Valley. Much of which is doled out to buddy startups and eager founders; you just need to know the right people (which I assume is the case in SV as well).
And if your in the media/publishing scene, there is nothing even close. Add advertising to that as well although I know someone will argue that San Fran has a huge advertising scene as well. Bottom line for advertising: most of the big brand dollars come out of Madison Avenue.
Posted by: gimme a break | June 10, 2008 7:08 AM
I think LA has just a good of a chance of becoming a satellite tech cluster as NY, especially for media-focused startups (Remember, it's LA and not NY that's the undisputed capital in this regard).
I don't mean the beach communities per se, but rather the East side - stretching from about Hollywood to Pasadena. Hollwyood/Silverlake is a hipster creative mecca while Pasadena has a healthy supply of design freaks (Art Center) and geeks (Caltech, USC). True, the money's mostly on the Westside, but in LA, a 1.5 hour drive is normal..
Posted by: David Johnson | June 10, 2008 7:50 AM
Have you guys ever heard about the Silicon Alley?
Back in the late 90s, New York startups strived, went public (theglobe, priceline, about.com...) and attracted money, talent and fame. The Silicon Alley is back in the game and new innovative startups are emerging in New York. There are many new exciting players who have embraced smart money-making business models and the web.2 world like Etsy, meetup or theladders. All the existing established traditional media players like Time Warner, MTV, Primedia, CBS have strong digital arms and a plethoria of geeks. The old survivors from the dotcom era like Priceline, Doubleclick, Webmd are still around.
If New York didn't have geeks and talents, why Google or Yahoo have huge offices in the Big Apple?
Now, costs of living are comparable to the Silicon Valley area where lodging is almost as expensive and you need a car to get anywhere and feel the pain of higher gasoline prices.
I agree that the SV offers a unique ecosystem (Standford, VCs, geeks…) but today with outsourcing, startups can be set up from anywhere. You can build prototypes using contractors based in China or India on the cheap and go to angels or VCs. So SV is not necessary where things need to happen although it is a unique place for startups.
New York may sometimes follow the initial trends originating from the Pacific waves but innovation and creativity is a state of mind and Gotham city is smart enough to embrace these trends and grow.
New York is so stimulating, creative and cool and has more to offer as a city than the boring suburbs from the Bay area. New York has always proved throughout history that it has a great ability to constantly attract money, talent by re-inventing itself. Don't underestimate NYC that fast "dudes"!
Posted by: jerome | June 10, 2008 10:23 AM
Its been said passingly here, but it's all about...
Startup costs.
To rent a decent size commercial loft (in brooklyn) to house 20-40 employees is gonna cost you 20k a month - and they will want 6 months advance. I don't know about LA prices, but I bet you can find something decent for 20k a year.
I can't even imagine what someone pays in Manhattan for a commercial space suitable for web dev.
Cost of living in SV is no where near that of NYC. You can't just look at rent prices. EVERYTHING costs more here. We also pay more taxes- Federal, State AND city taxes.
Al
Posted by: Alan Klement | June 10, 2008 3:18 PM
It's not "either, or", but "both, and" -- each has their advantages and disadvantages.
What's silly about this piece is that it makes the "Valley" seem monolithic when, in fact, it isn't. San Francisco and San Jose have little in common (and San Jose is the larger of the two). There is much diversity across the Bay area.
There are arguably regional clusters within Silicon Valley, e.g., mobile companies off the 92, software companies from Mountain View to Redwood City, hardware firms from Palo Alto to Santa Clara, semiconductor firms with a significant play in Santa Clara (city, not just the county), networking firms in the South Bay. Oracle: Redwood City. HP: Palo Alto. Apple: Cupertino. Cisco: San Jose (probably; might be Milpitas). Intel: Santa Clara. And, of course, let's not forget the center of the Silicon Valley universe: Mountain View. And who is headquartered in Mountain View? Too many companies to name, but let's just settle for both Google and Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus. Toward or in the South Bay are eBay and Yahoo. A9 (Amazon) is in Palo Alto (downtown Palo Alto, to be specific), as is (was?) Facebook.
At one point in time, it was about 128: DEC, Data General, Prime and Wang. That's ancient history ... and many in the under 40 crowd reading this don't have any idea what I'm talking about. 128 had a chance and blew it, but there are still highly innovative (and very tech-focused) firms sprouting in the Boston area.
Many economists have tried to figure out ways to imitate Silicon Valley. ALL attempts have failed, although certainly some attempts have done better than others. But even in a city like Beijing, the tech cluster in the Shangdi area of the Haidian District (where zPark is) is a planet away from many of the more creative firms in the Chaoyang District. (Having lived in one while working in the other, I can testify that it's a 90 minute one-way commute on three subway lines.) Still, BJ will always be about politics. Shanghai will continue to be about finance and trade. Dalian wants to be the Silicon Valley of China, but will never attain that status. Has Bangalore? Maybe. But it still pales compared to Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley is unique. New York will never supplant the Valley.
OTOH, AlwaysOn/Tony Perkins was wise enough to catch on to the fact that a lot of certain types of innovativeness are going on beyond the Valley. Hence, Tony has started a slew of conferences in Manhattan, Los Angeles, several other places.
Bottom line: There is life beyond Silicon Valley, but no other city/region will be able to match the Valley in tech innovativeness for at least the foreseeable future.
Posted by: David Scott Lewis | June 10, 2008 7:06 PM
What? I thought RWW was all about community and love. And now, we have a throwdown? With NYC no less being crowned the heir to the throne without so much as even an online poll?
What gives?
If you want to know the real secret of great local tech, I think Florida (particularly Orlando and Miami) are the future that has, ahem!, already arrived.
Hey, I love NYC as much as any good American, but per capita, Florida is the great mecca. Go fight smog and traffic and crazy liberal restrictive laws and high taxes in California if you want, but when you're done with all your Scoble-like posturing, come to the great free state of Florida and enjoy life.
Posted by: Lawrence Salberg | June 10, 2008 9:39 PM
So I just ran across your post after submitting a related post to Digg: http://enterventure.com/blog/2008/06/11/two-ideas-for-the-ny-startup-scene/
Basically, I think the NY tech scene needs to stop blaming Wall St and start stepping up in order to ensure it's own success. There's something wrong with the system when Columbia students have no idea that a NY startup scene even exists.
Check it out and let me know what you think.
Posted by: Patrick | June 10, 2008 9:57 PM
New York City is cool in the way that fans of "Sex and the City" think NYC is cool, or in that same way that Portland, Oregon is cool. In other words, it isn't very. And it hasn't been in quite some time since it became a luxury boutique. But "cool" still exists in California: rash, quirky, innovative, trend setter, movie star as governor, Latino as mayor of LA, gay marriages, green movement in San Francisco. If anything, innovation belongs in California.
Posted by: david | June 11, 2008 2:11 AM
Patrick, thanks. Your post hits nail on head AND helps me with a specific recruiting challenge. I will go to SEAS (Columbia’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences). Blatent pitch here - I am looking for a computer science grad who wants to work in a profitable software product start-up innovating in the eForex space. Not a back room coding job, will be in front of clients, so needs the right personality and drive for that. Full package and training.
Posted by: Bernard Lunn
|
June 11, 2008 4:50 AM
Judging from this, New York doesn't have the entrepreneurial edge because New Yorkers are too long winded.
Posted by: Chadwick Smith | June 13, 2008 9:20 AM
Hi I am an european so I am neutral ;-)
It's funny for me to read that New York City is not considered a cool city. Every european man or woman love The Big Apple and movies about NYC, photos of NYC, yellow cab... everything!
Consider for example Tumblr http://www.tumblr.com/
I know hundred of europeans that litterally love Tumblr.
So Newyorkers turn your head and see behind you the old and expensive Europe is eager to buy your soul.
my twor cents
Posted by: Roldano De Persio | June 14, 2008 10:49 AM