

Ask HN: Is New York ever going to beat Silicon Valley? - jval

Is New York's 'tech renaissance' going to ever put it on par with Silicon Valley? Or is it all just a bunch of hot air?<p>I mean specifically regarding web startups, as opposed to hardware stuff where there doesn't seem to have been as much attention. By 'on par' I mean in a position where it can produce at least a handful of multi-billion dollar web exits, even if SV ultimately has a greater volume.<p>Are there any key blogs that cover the NY Tech Scene in particular?
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brudgers
It's possible, but unlikely for the same sorts of reasons that the Bay Area is
ever likely to be 'on par' with New York in terms of theatre. Bay Area culture
accepts failed startups just as New York culture accepts failed plays.
Likewise, the couch surfing ramen fueled lifestyle is fine for programmers in
the Valley just like actors in New York.

Every city has a cluster of socially acceptable reasons for being broke. In
New York, being an entrepreneur tends to be not among them.

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ariannahsimpson
Hard to say, but I think one of the main hinderances is availability of
capital, especially to early stage startups. It's not that there isn't money
in NY, it's just generally far more available to later-stage companies (and
arguing which is better is a whole other issue). Clearly, if a startup is
having trouble raising on the East coast, they have two options: give up, or
move West. I think that as long as this is happening, the scales are likely to
continue to tip in SV's favor.

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mapster
Take into account the large start-up culture employers - Google, Apple, FB,
Yahoo to name a few. And Standford as a thinktank. Funding bank: VCs and
angels. These are hubs where talent revolve around and from which money flows.
In the absence of established hubs, thinktanks, and VC pool, there will be
little neck-neck competition with SV/SF. Which is to say it is better to have
diverse startup cultures in the US, some small, some monoliths, each different
and unique.

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seiji
As far as I can tell, the current tech/startup rankings are SF > The Bay Area
> Seattle > NY.

SF/The Bay Area win because everybody you meet will likely be another
startup/tech person. The constant influence drives creativity, spontaneous
idea generation, acquisitions, pr, hr, etc. Also, acceptable weather.

Seattle's tech scene is 90% Amazon employees. You have other smaller companies
and startups out there, but Amazon dominates. To start a company, you'll be
fighting Amazon for employees. If you hire an ex-Amazon employee, you have to
spend six months deprogramming them from broken Amazon processes and
lifestyles. Bonus for Seattle: no personal or corporate income tax (just a
9.5% sales tax).

NY's tech scene is almost hidden. You won't run into it day to day. You'll run
into actors, models, fashion designers, lawyers, quants, tourists, and people
trying to find their place in the world. You won't hear someone talking about
json or rails or functional programing in coffee shops or on the subway.

Summary conclusion: If you're a high strung aspie nerd who wants to win win
win -- SF or The Bay Area. If you don't need tons of employees or can import
employees from around the country, Seattle beats SF to avoid taxhell and
dirtyhell and smellyhell and homelesshell. If you want to date, have a life,
have culture, and cross pollinate your company with The Real World, NY wins.

Transit conclusion: In The Bay Area or Seattle, you'll want to have a car. If
you never leave SF, you can get by without a car. In NYC, only crazy people
have cars (just wait until you can afford a door-to-office helicopter).

Place-to-live conclusion: SF's housing/rental market is broken. Seattle has
more sane rents and places to live, but nothing is connected by transit. NY
has adjustable rent depending how far out you want to live, and everything
connected by transit.

Starting a company conclusion: Seattle wins because of no income tax, still
having a relatively high techie population, and young we-can-do-this
atmosphere. California rips almost 10% out of your paycheck for personal taxes
and more with corporate taxes, but you're surrounded by the best startup
people in the world. NY has a more sane personal income tax level around 6%,
but you'll be importing startup people or herding them yourself (just convince
some actors to act as programmers until they can actually program).

Actual conclusion: If you want the easy build-to-flip or fail-by-acquihire
approach, be in SF. If you want to be around good people and not be taken
advantage of by your local governments, use Seattle to start/grow your
company. If your company deals with real people having real problems and you
want to live an adventure, use New York City.

Am I qualified to have these opinions? Check my profile.

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suyash
As far as I can tell, the current tech/startup rankings are SF > The Bay Area
> Seattle > NY. - INCORRECT

CORRECT VERSION: Peninsula > South Bay > East Bay > SF > NY > Boston > Austin.

