

Why you should start a company in.... Seattle - anderzole
http://www.fastcompany.com/article/why-you-should-start-company-seattle?page=0%2C0

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herdrick
_...[among investors] I think more and more people in the Bay Area are going,
"Wow! It's super competitive down here..." So I'm seeing more Valley firms
actually coming up here because they're seeing really good companies forming._

Read that, "Seattle looks more capital starved and has lots of good startups
looking for funding which would have already been funded in the Valley".
Heaven for investors, sure. I really wish it weren't true, but the Valley is
better for entrepreneurs.

~~~
tybris
As Jeff Bezos likes to say: Frugality breeds innovation.

The availability of money changes how you go about doing business, but not
your chances of success. In my experience Seattle entrepreneurs are much more
focussed on building a serious business, while Valley entrepreneurs are
focussed on building the most awesome toys in the world (we'll make money
eventually, right?). Consequently, valley companies have fanboys, while
Seattle companies have fancorps. Both can make a lot of money. On the short
run I would put my money in San Francisco since the boys can be very excited.
On the long run I would put my money in Seattle since the corps won't lose
interest over time.

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vishaldpatel
He forgot to mention that all the rain means you'll stay indoors and do more
work.

~~~
dminor
Seattle gets less rain than NY.

~~~
davepeck
True. According to the USGS, New York gets 45.4" of precipitation yearly,
while Seattle gets 37.2".

That said, I'd like to find out how to compare the number of days with rain in
both places. Seattle gets drizzle. The year I moved here we had 86 days of
continuous drizzle and no sun sightings. New York most likely gets its
precipitation in the occasional downpour -- not to mention snow -- and
probably has more overall sunny days during the winter. (Just a guess,
though.)

[http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/new-
york/new-...](http://countrystudies.us/united-states/weather/new-york/new-
york.htm)

[http://countrystudies.us/united-
states/weather/washington/se...](http://countrystudies.us/united-
states/weather/washington/seattle.htm)

~~~
joubert
We don't do the drizzle sh*t in New York; we go big. When it rains, it pours.
It also doesn't stop us from going outside. We don't care - we've got things
to do, places to be.

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anguslong
Here goes... Seattle is a fantastic town, water everywhere, gorgeous vistas
and when the weather cooperates (August) there's no better place (I've found)
in the entie-ree world.

That said, I just moved my teensy company from Seattle to Austin (after
nearly, gulp, three decades in the SEA). Ms. Rich's article reads like the
'impressions' of one who's never, umm, started a company in Seattle.

5 reasons I left (and won't be headed back):

\- traffic is abysmal. Not NYC/LA abysmal, but for a town of its size, truly
awful.

\- weather is grey/overcast and misty (most years) for 10 months.

\- it's hard to attract/keep talent with families -- home prices near good
schools, within short commute of downtown (or eastside) core are high. Wages
are somewhat high, but get eaten up fast if you buy a home.

\- business taxes, fees. State/county government is bloated and seems very
willing to sacrifice job creation for revenue (read: more taxes on the way).

\- did I mention the weather? Went back for thanksgiving - culture shock.
Weather was overcast and I was struck by how dark it is. Light at 9am-ish and
starts to get dark at 3:30.

There's a reason Seattle runs on caffeine.

(edit: thought I had this bulleted list thing down - alas, no)

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greyfade
Those are terrible reasons. I have a better one:

The state employment security department is having a hell of a time keeping up
with the unemployment rate. There's a disproportionately high number of people
who need work.

I should know. I'm one such programmer.

