I don't get the whole idea of NYC being a startup hub. Sure there is capital here, but the nearest decent engineering school is in Boston and there is not a top-notch state engineering school in the entire northeast. How are you going to have a tech mecca without a read supply of talent? It's easy to wire money to other cities; not so easy to get top talent to relocate to the most expensive city in the country.
I think one of the big things about NYC being a startup hub is that a lot of the startups aren't purely technical in nature like they are out in SV. New York has long been a mecca of design and media, and a lot of the startups based out of the city have strong ties to those roots (Aviary, Boxee, etc.) Most of the engineering talent isn't too far away (Cornell, Princeton, Yale, and the Boston schools are reasonably close) and I think a lot of engineers that appreciate beautiful code are also drawn to the elements of working with startups that not only are technically impressive, but also aesthetically impressive.
Columbia has a good engineering school and a good CS program. It's no Stanford, Berkeley, or MIT but it's no slouch. Columbia has an excellent opportunity to be a leader in the NYC tech space but from what I've seen efforts from the CS department have been lacking. Which is a shame because lots of capable engineers go to Columbia only to be swallowed up by the finance industry.
I agree that there is an engineering void but engineers isn't the only element that makes a startup. There's lots of creative talent in NYC and plenty of live ecosystems to tap directly into that aren't narrowly defined by technology. Also Boston isn't all that far from NYC (short train ride really) so I do see lots of talent moving between these two cities.
There are actually several proposals being considered by the city to encourage the creation of a top 10 technical school in NYC. I have high hopes that one of them will bear fruit.
I agree with you that the lack of a top tier tech school right in NYC remains a big problem.
The lack of good public schools is still an issue I think. The major tech corridors (bay area, research triangle, seattle/portland, northern VA) are all close to top-notch state engineering schools. I worked at a startup in northern Virginia and definitely noticed that having Virginia Tech right there was a great benefit as we grew. I think that's a huge weak-spot for NYC.
I don't really see the motivation begin dethroning SF as the go-to place for startups. NYC is great, a city I personally love, but why can't it co-exist alongside SF? There SHOULD be two great places for startups, not just one. What will make the difference, though, is what types of startups flock to which city and why. No need to start a war, work together and the end result will be a tech industry that will be hard to stop.
Really? And did Googles 3 billion acquisition of double-click kickstart the momentum that led to foursquares funding?
Me thinks not. The fact that foursquare, which makes no significant revenue, is now valued at 600 million dollars is the antithesis of what NYC, driven by profit motivated banks, is all about.
It's an example of a bubble.
Also, even though Foursquare opened up a SF office, the key point is that it is BASED in NYC. The app still says "made in NYC." Dens is an East Coast guy, and that's what matters. If Zuck started Facebook now, he just as easily could have stayed in Boston or come to NYC (he's from just outside the city). However, in 2004, he had no choice but to go to the Valley.
