

Apply to AlphaLab:  $25K and 5mo free office space - thejash
http://www.alphalab.org/about.aspx

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karjaluoto
It's nice to see more programs like these starting up, even if they do feel a
little derivative of YC. They seem like good catalysts for cities that want to
get new businesses operating in them.

The challenge, in my opinion, is that although they can be great for the
communities, I think they come at a cost for entrepreneurs.

I've done a lot of things from a distance. After art school I moved away from
the city to paint. I reasoned that doing so cut costs and that I could paint
well anywhere. Years later I partnered in an interaction design firm in a
small town employing a similar rationale. Most recently, we've been working on
our startup from Vancouver, which is beautiful and a nice place to raise a
family.

In each of these instances, the logic for being away from a center (be it art,
design or startup) has been sound. Additionally, there are always strong
proponents in these communities to keep people doing "great things close to
home." No matter how strong the logic is though, it simply doesn't hold up.
There are greater opportunities for those who put themselves at the heart of
the "action".

You could likely start a great company in Pennsylvania, but even with low rent
and more equity, you'd still have a weaker "deal". The appeal of YC, in my
opinion, is that it's so close to where people think in startup-terms and is
run by people who actually live in that world.

Although some will bemoan my saying so, the closer you can get to the action,
the better. There are probably some great actors in Helsinki, but I bet you'll
never hear anything about them.

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dbul
Well unfortunately not everyone can get into YC or save up enough money to go
move to the bay area to fund themselves while developing connections.

If Google had been started in Pittsburgh, they still would have been
successful. I heard about Google through IRC back in the late 90s and
immediately switched from Altavista because Google was so damn good.

Incidentally, AlphaLab is new, but Pittsburgh/PA has had seed funding through
InnovationWorks and IdeaFoundry for some time. It used to be more like "here's
$100,000 and you are on your own." AlphaLab is _trying_ to develop a
community. Again, I think it remains to be seen how these seed funding
ventures turn out. Admitting SV is the only logical choice is premature. Give
it time.

~~~
tjic
> If Google had been started in Pittsburgh, they still would have been
> successful.

I'm not a huge Silicon Valley booster (I like MA, thankyouverymuch), but I
think the idea that Google would have been able to hire as much top notch
talent, as quickly as they did, in PA is nonsense.

The only way that Google could have started in PA and been as successful as
they have been is if they very quickly moved to Silicon Valley (or - maybe -
MA).

~~~
wheels
I'm not sure that's true. Microsoft and Amazon, for instance, did pretty well
in Seattle. And Pittsburg does have CMU, whose CS program comes in right after
MIT, Stanford and Berkeley's. It was probably easier for Google in the Valley.
How much easier is hard to say.

~~~
pchristensen
It was only easy for Google because the had tons of cash to hire people when
everyone was getting laid off in the tech bust. They owned the market for top
people because of the rare event that many top people were on the market.

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thejash
We applied to both YC and AlphaLab last year. We ended up being a part of
AlphaLab, and I'm so glad that we did. It's been a great experience so far--
lots of great advisors and contacts (who knew that Pittsburgh had so many tech
companies?) Also, the terms are considerably better than YC. :)

AlphaLab is now accepting applications for the next cycle and they are very
similar to the YC applications, so I thought I'd mention this to everyone. Let
me know if you have questions!

~~~
pclark
did you get _accepted_ into YC and went for AlphaLab instead?

~~~
thejash
Nope, but I'm glad that it worked out the way that it did. AlphaLab has been a
really great program so far, and the benefits of YCombinator over AlphaLab
(ie, exposure to Silicon Valley folk) are not really that important to us.
Pittsburgh has a surprisingly strong tech and entrepreneurial community.

~~~
pclark
whats your startup?

~~~
dbul
Apparently <http://www.innomi.net>

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pclark
oh and hurrah: "As Innovation Works utilizes funds from the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, _each company receiving funding is expected to maintain a
significant presence in Pennsylvania after the program_ "

~~~
thejash
Yep, that's the one downside. It's the price you pay for keeping significantly
more equity (AlphaLab only takes 3%) in exchange for more funding ($25K).

Pittsburgh's a great place to do a startup though. It's a great city, and
really cheap as cities go. Whatever money you have for starting up goes a lot
farther than it would in some other places.

~~~
dbul
It's only a downside if you think you need the connections. Other than that I
fail to see the downside.

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sr3d
From their FAQ:

"14) Do we have to stay in Pittsburgh after the program ends?

Companies are expected to remain in Pittsburgh after the end of the AlphaLab
program. Our goal is to help you build a successful technology company and to
add to the critical mass of flourishing tech companies in the Pittsburgh
region. We believe that Pittsburgh is a great place to build a company and
after your experience at AlphaLab we are confident that you will agree."

Is this a legal agreement? It is still a bit surprising to me that you are
still "expected" to tie down your company to a specific location. Maybe some
ex-AlphaLab-er can shine in some light here.

~~~
thejash
Basically, if after signing the agreement and being part of the program, if
your company decides that it needs to go somewhere else and have no presence
in PA within the next few years, you have to give back the $25K. That's it.

It's not that bad if you think about it--if you get any later-stage funding,
$25K is a small price to pay to allow you to move somewhere else.

~~~
okeumeni
How about equity, do you get equity back too?

~~~
jam
I'd sure hope not - it would make the program far too easy to screw over.

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dustineichler
alphalab looks pretty cool, hate that it's in pittsburgh but worth applying.

