
Wanted: a cofounder willing to move to a Moroccan surf town - yallahaline
http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/looking-for-a-cofounder
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dang
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050)

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jaoued
My humble advice is find a co-founder first and then both of you decide to
move to Taghazout. Trying to find your co-founder is more important than the
location. Mixing the two could be a recipe for disaster. The most difficult
thing in the life of any startup is finding the right co-founder. Best to run
solo than getting it wrong. All the best.

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the_watcher
I'm curious as to why the author seems to be so set on Taghazout specifically.

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yallahaline
Already popular with entrepreneurs Good surf/yoga/creative/authentic vibe
Close to an international airport Sunny and different from Europe :)
[http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-
american-...](http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-american-
startup-decided-to-work-from-moroccan-surf-town-taghazout)

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ohitsdom
Slightly off topic: I love the thought of working at an awesome location.
"Surf town" sounds really fun. But as a developer, I cringed hard when I saw
the picture of them actually working. I know it's only a picture and I'm sure
he wants to convey a cool vibe, but it looks really haphazard. Hopefully they
have other rooms with more comfortable workspaces.

My ideal setup is a multi-monitored station with a nice chair and an awesome
view of a beach.

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0xdeadbeefbabe
I'm imagining a surfer zen master saying, "dude it is not the size of the
screen that matters, but what is in the mind."

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mbrock
Surfing Zen Master has a point. I work every day on a laptop switching between
my browser, Slack, and a full-screen 80 column terminal.

Yeah, different needs for different people & tasks. But there's nothing
intrinsically wrong or difficult with working on just a laptop.

I dream of being able to work on just an e-ink tablet with Bluetooth
keyboard...

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Scarbutt
What about ergonomics? don't you think a desktop computer helps here?

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mbrock
Maybe, but working fewer hours and taking breaks is probably more important.
Sitting down for hours at a time while being stressed and tired is bad no
matter the perfect battle station, ya know?

Maybe I'm thinking of a somewhat utopian scenario, but I'd take a laptop plus
a nice house in a nice environment over most office rooms any day.

And I think it's really important not to overwork. To the point where I'd
optimize everything around it. If the software I'm making requires me to be at
a computer coding or fixing bugs for eight hours every day, I'd consider that
a problem to be fixed immediately.

But that's a much larger issue!

Anyway, different strokes, and it's great to have someplace to sit, but even
if you give me a private office I'll probably migrate towards the kitchen
table if only to have better coffee access—or go outside.

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codecamper
We just got back from 6 months in Morocco. We work with technology. Me:
programmer. She: designer. Dog: just does the cute thing. We travel by camper
van.

I'll contact your site and we'll drop by in the Fall if you all will be
around.

Cheers- Matt

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slyrus
Posting from Marrakech via hotel WiFi to confirm that the internet seems to
work reasonably well in Morocco, FWTW. Perhaps Taghazout is cooler, but,
personally, I'd find it hard to get work done in this 45 C heat.

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yallahaline
It's usually around 20 to 30C, with a nice breeze. Marrakech has a different
weather altogether.

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lem72
Cool! I am doing something similar in Nicaragua. Best of luck to you!

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presty
Curious about your burn rate in Nicaragua and level of safety. Care to share?

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outworlder
What about infrastructure? High-speed internet? Security? Government
bureaucracy? Cost of living? Business opportunities? Increased equipment
corrosion?

A 'surf' town sounds great. But I just moved away from a popular tourist
destination in Brazil, due to some of the above concerns.

~~~
yallahaline
For the participant to the program: internet is good enough, but I'm looking
to get a much better plan in the fall. Security is not a problem. For the
cofounder: bureaucracy is not as smooth as in Europe or North America, but
it's nothing impossible. Some products are not available in Morocco, but you
can easily get them from Europe. Clients are mostly coming from Europe and
North America :)

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rwhitman
Maybe I'm just jealous but has this concept of a startup retreat achieved any
real world success stories someone can point to? Wouldn't being isolated in a
remote corner of the world put a real damper on being able to build business
relationships?

