There's been a lot written lately about the NYC startup scene. It's exploding. It's hot. Etc. And all that is true.
But as a first-time founder trying to raise capital and achieve product-market fit, the question for me is not "Is NYC hot?" or even "Is NYC becoming a better startup hub?" so much as it is "Is NYC the best place to locate my startup?" And on that question, I'm not sure the answer is yes.
See, here's the thing: As far as I can tell, startups face two main environmental challenges:
1) Raising Capital
2) Finding Talent
Here's how NYC scores on this...
Raising Capital
Good: Folks like Chris Dixon, Betaworks and Fred
Wilson are here. Smart, visionary investors.
Bad: Folks like
Chris Dixon, Betaworks, and Fred Wilson are a TINY fraction of the
market.
In reality, the capital markets in NYC are flooded with Wall Streeters turned venture capitalists. These are people who know how to analyze and pick in assets, not people who know how to build companies. These are people who do dumb shit like ask about pricing for a premium version of a genuinely novel product (in a category with no existing market) that hasn't even launched yet...in the first meeting. #VCFAIL (Ok, there's some exceptions, but not tons...)
To read the full, original article click on this link: Face It: NYC Is Not The Best Place For A Startup
Author: Matt Mireles
