

"I Have a Startup" - Midwest vs Bay Area - garbowza
http://leavingcorporate.com/2008/12/30/i-have-a-startup-midwest-vs-bay-area/

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Shooter
"I have a startup" seems a very ODD way of saying what you do when people ask,
anyway. It is almost intentionally oblique. Even as a serial entrepreneur, I
would probably have a similar "midwestern" reaction if someone said that when
I asked them what they did...it's just a weird, passionless answer.

If you ask a person at a big corporation what they do, they don't usually say
"I have a job with a big corporation." Do they? Instead, they would usually
say something like "I work in accounting for the largest trucking company in
the US." or "I'm a salesman with a company that makes office copiers." Boring,
but at least it's an honest answer.

An entrepreneur should be able to muster much more passion than "I have a
startup" when asked what it is they do. People tend to respond positively when
you show passion and enthusiasm and speak directly about what you do. Even if
you have to 'dumb it down' for them to understand (or omit secret
information.) Maybe this guy should have enthusiastically said, "Yeah, I'm
working on a really neat piece of software that helps people to communicate
better by XXX"

For some reason, "I have a startup" makes me think of a few people I know that
have no passion for school, but have stayed in grad school for years on end so
they can avoid choosing a career. People may have pity or confusion in their
voice only because what you're saying has a cop-out or apologetic vibe to
it...?

~~~
thingsilearned
This is an great point! Saying that you're working on some excellent software
and what its trying to do may be the best way to approach the conversation,
especially in the midwest...

Once you describe what you're doing, then you'll be asked who you work for,
and when you say yourself the idea of a startup will be better explained.

I'm always hesitant to do so because I feel that describing what project you
work on doesn't describe the hours you work, the responsibilities, and all the
extras that come with a startup.

~~~
mhartl
N.B. In case it wasn't clear, thingsilearned is the author of the post.

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bradgessler
The bay area is special from a funding/VC perspective. After pitching in
Chicago, Boston, and SF; I've come to realize what makes the valley special:
there are so damn many investors that they don't all know each other which
reduces "group think."

In cities like Chicago, there are a handful of VCs that all talk to each
other. If you pitch to one and they don't like your idea, they trade notes
with their other VC buddies in the area and that's it. Your done. Pack up your
bags and head to the next city. I could count the number of funded Chicago web
startups with one hand.

In the valley there are so many investors with so much more experience willing
to fund ideas that investors from other areas simply wouldn't touch. If you
pitch to one guy and he doesn't like it, go pitch to another investor... and
another... and another... it will be a while before you exhaust this list.

From my experience the bay area doesn't suffer from the same group think
problems that most other areas in the world suffer from; including a sizable
city like Chicago.

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male_salmon
Isn't this exactly what PG said in his Cities and Ambition -
<http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html> \- essay?

 _How much does it matter what message a city sends? Empirically, the answer
seems to be: a lot. You might think that if you had enough strength of mind to
do great things, you'd be able to transcend your environment. Where you live
should make at most a couple percent difference. But if you look at the
historical evidence, it seems to matter more than that. Most people who did
great things were clumped together in a few places where that sort of thing
was done at the time._

~~~
thingsilearned
Yup, its very much the same point but narrower in focus and less eloquently
stated. I should have linked to his article in mine.

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fallentimes
One of my favorite quotes: _"Being a startup founder in SF is like being an
actor/model in LA."_

~~~
jaspertheghost
And being a venture capitalist is like being a producer ?!? :-0 !

I kid because I love exclamation QuEsTiOn mArK

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mattmaroon
I don't think that's fair at all. I find Midwesterners my age or below to be
just as excited about internet startups as anyone. The guy who plays poker for
a living in Las Vegas is just another gambler, the guy who does it in Indiana
is a rock star. Same thing with internet entrepreneurs. I know all of the
above first hand.

The big difference is that in the Bay Area, people significantly older than
myself still get it. In the Midwest they're still not sure what this
newfangled Facebook is all about. </sweeping generalization>

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papa
I'm in the Bay Area, but really I find the "I have a startup" only has the
desired affect on similarly afflicted individuals.

If I say the same thing to my relatives, no matter where they live, I get the
same blank stares.

I personally think it's not "where" but "who".

~~~
Shooter
I used to have this "blank stare" problem with some of my relatives and former
colleagues when they asked what I was working on. I finally realized I was
often just being too technical or was using industry-specific terms people
weren't familiar with...and sometimes I was being too specific or too general
in my explanations. Like I expected everyone else to have the same background
and interests as I do. I finally tried putting myself in their shoes. If
you're too general, you will sound evasive or apologetic. If you're too
specific, it's easy to sound boring. It's a difficult balance to be specific
enough that you keep their interest, but not so specific you confuse them or
flip their "Techy-talk OFF switch."

I try to use very common analogies and to speak as simply and directly as
possible. I usually just explain the selling proposition and/or business model
of the startup without any additional information about "how we do it" or "in
what industry" or "who our competitors are," etc. If they want more details,
they can ask.

I've ended up with a few stock answers I use for every one of my startups. I
usually just state the problem, and my solution to that problem, in layman's
terms. That usually gets the best response. People usually start asking more
specific questions, and we go from there. I try to explain what my startup
does, and to convey my passion for the business without sounding too much like
a pushy salesman or a nut ;-) If the startup is profitable, I add that tidbit.

I actually went from getting blank stares to getting new business and
referrals. A simple, clear answer about the benefits your business offers can
literally turn people into customers on the spot...or at least promoters of
you and your ideas. Genuine enthusiasm and passion is memorable, and people
are drawn to it.

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tom_rath
_Having a higher level of respect and more assurance will make a huge
difference in your general happiness and future success._

I'm not too sure about that. If other people's opinions will strongly
influence your mood and business outlook, entrepreneurship might not be for
you.

For myself, visualizing how those politely nodding and smiling "that's nice"
people would one day be green with envy was a delightful motivator.

These days, the condescension is gone and smiles are a bit tighter.

~~~
garbowza
I disagree. Morale is huge deal within a startup. Startups are emotional
rollercoasters, and if your environment is always negatively affecting your
morale, the lows will eventually drag down your productivity. That doesn't
mean you aren't fit for entrepreneurship - if so, why are the majority of
successful web startups clustered in the Bay Area?

~~~
tom_rath
Respect has to be earned. If one's morale is buttressed by toadies and
'respecting' yes-men who gush about how awesome you are just because of your
job title, things are more likely to go off the rails when the sun stops
shining.

By all means mix with like-minded people, but your morale and motivation
shouldn't depend upon whether or not your neighbour thinks you're 'cool'.

~~~
potatolicious
This doesn't really have to do with yes-men. We're not talking about people
who feel negatively about _your company_ , but rather the fact that you _run
one at all_. The kind of scorn the article author talks about is not "oh man,
there's no future in (field)", but rather "why in the world would you risk
running your own company?!". The latter certainly still calls for a thick
skin, but it would help if your closest friends and family were supportive
about the concept.

~~~
tom_rath
If the scorn of others is enough to dissuade you, you will not have success in
business.

~~~
jaspertheghost
In theory, yes it's true that scorn may even help one's entrepreneurial flame.
The difference is that starting a company is like starting a fire. Little
gusts of wind can buttress and make the fire spread, but it can also knock it
out.

Having the support of the community within the bay area is just one less
headache to deal with in conjunction with the many headaches of doing a
startup.

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dangrover
I'm from rural Vermont and more recently Boston. I'm moving to the Bay Area
next week. I'm really curious to see how pronounced this effect is.

~~~
jaspertheghost
I started a company in Chicago and moved to the Bay Area. the differences are
almost exactly what was described in the article. I jumped from a fairly large
and prestigious company to start the company and people automatically were
incredulous that I would quit. There is no area like the Bay Area for starting
company in terms of emotional well being and having fellow entrepreneurs in
the same boat.

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strlen
Not always true. I'm in Bay Area, but when I left a big co to join a start-up,
I got the question of "why would you quit a big company to join a small
place?" and got blank stares as an explanation.

By default joining start-ups, founding businesses just _isn't_ what educated
intelligentsia do. If pg is right, that _will_ change.

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jmtame
Illinois has a bad entrepreneurial scene too. Everyone pushes you to get
employment, it's nauseating after a while.

