

Ask HN: On Cities, Ambition, Centralization and Being Relentlessly Resourceful - roschdal

This is a question about centralization, and whether being relentlessly resourceful could
help startups which are not in Silicon Valley.<p>In "Cities and Ambition", Paul Graham stated "Does anyone who wants to do great work have to live in a great city? No; all great cities inspire some sort of ambition, but they aren't the only places that do." But he also stated that "being relentlessly resourceful is a recipe for success", so possibly there are relentless ways of succeeding in "non-great" cities?<p>So how can technology startups be successful outside of leading high-tech hubs? Please share your experiences.
======
david927
Paul is wrong. The year is 2009 and if you're resourceful, you can find what
you need on-line. Marketing costs are a tax for poor applications. Hosting
costs are a tax for not using the right framework. You can do anything --
wherever you are right now. The first step is to ignore everyone, including
Paul Graham.

And the second step is to just do it.

------
kineticac
It's nice being close to other startups that you would / could potentially
talk to. Arranging meetings, even spontaneous ones goes a long way. If you
live in Silicon Valley, you're basically surrounded by a ton of these
companies. If you don't have the time and money to travel much, it makes sense
to be closer to these other guys.

Then again if you really don't need anyone else, and phone calls are good
enough, I say go wherever you want =)

Me? I'd like to sit on an Island out near Fiji every day while working.
Optimally it will have an airport, water, electricity, and internet. =)

------
abossy
I don't have a quick-and-dirty answer for you, but look into early tech
companies that grew outside of Silicon Valley. The prime example here is
Microsoft, which started in Albuquerque (a tech hub at the time) and moved to
Seattle (not a tech hub at the time). Bill Gates is the first person that
comes to mind in terms of being 'relentlessly resourceful,' as this move was
for the intention of being closer to home, not for business reasons, AFAIK.

~~~
nialllarkin
I remember reading somewhere that Gates had failed to get a business loan. And
that his father offered to guarantor him if he agreed to set up business back
home in Seattle.

------
Tichy
Maybe it is like starting a family: once you are married, you can move out to
the suburbs. You have already found your SO, so you don't need access to the
"market" anymore.

So maybe meet your co-founders in a tech hub, then move elsewhere together?

