Comments on: Why the NYC Startup Scene is Hot (Hint: Not Fred Wilson)

By: What NYC Needs: A New Narrative « The Metamorphosis

What NYC Needs: A New Narrative « The Metamorphosis — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:37:25 +0000

[...] goal of my rants is to get people to think a little differently about the problem and maybe, just maybe, start to [...]

By: Matt Mireles

Matt Mireles — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:35:55 +0000

Agreed! With Columbia, I am doing my best to roll the ball up the hill, but there’s a lot of institutional momentum to overcome.
Honestly, I think it’s as much about creating a mythology and legend amongst the students. And the way you do that is by having a huge exit, but I worry that the conservatism of the early, early stage capital owners is gonna prevent that. I hope I’m wrong.

By: Matt Mireles

Matt Mireles — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:35:00 +0000

By: Sanford Dickert

Sanford Dickert — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:28:50 +0000

Matt -
Charlie and I have been discussing this for quite some time – check out his post and my post on the topic.
I, for one, am thrilled to see the impact of the meltdown of CorporateLand and the financial bubble in freeing up money. One of my relatives was telling me that there is over 5 TRILLION sitting on the sidelines. It is now almost 18 months since the meltdown. This means that investors are ITCHING to get their money working again.
My concern: no one is bringing the infrastructure (incubators), the education (training people how to become facile with tech) or experience (previous success players) in a way that creates a positive spin.
I am sorry, but the schools in NYC while excellent in many areas, have not fostered entrepreneurial thinking – they are often fostering COG thinking (where can I get a job to settle down). As Columbia ramps up its program, and Poly/NYU begins to ramp their program – give it five years – THEN I will be very proud of the schools.
I am excited about the fact that entrepreneurs with experience are making NYC their home (Stowe, Caterina, Matt, JackD, etc) and that many of our homegrown are staying with us here. That is VERY important.
Now, if we could convince Mayor Bloomberg to figure a way to really incentivize people to build businesses here – like finding a way to bring down the base cost of running a business in the City. Come on, NYC has one the HIGHEST tax base for businesses in the nation (IMHO). Mayor Bloomberg – are you listening?

By: Sanford Dickert

Sanford Dickert — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:28:00 +0000

By: Matt Mireles

Matt Mireles — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:06:22 +0000

Unfortunately, startups are a bit more mobile than capital. It’s an inefficiency in the system for sure, but c’est la vie.

By: Matt Mireles

Matt Mireles — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:06:00 +0000

Unfortunately, startups are a bit more mobile than capital. It’s an inefficiency in the system for sure, but c’est la vie.

By: Brian Simmons

Brian Simmons — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:36:43 +0000

I am in southern California in Orange County and people tell me if I am going to raise money I need to head north to the valley. I hope that the work we are doing is enough for people to come this way as well and we don’t always have to get on a plane to go north. Good ideas are every where and good entrepreneurs make them happen!

By: Brian Simmons

Brian Simmons — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:36:00 +0000

By: Matt Mireles

Matt Mireles — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:09:14 +0000

Indeed it is. But as with so much of life, simple and obvious does not mean that it’s the common perception.