Why you should start a company in… New York(fastcompany.com)
fastcompany.com
Why you should start a company in… New York
http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/maccabee-montandon/upswing/why-you-should-start-company-new-york
4 comments
Funny, I've been sure to add / ensure that there were clauses in my employment contracts that prevent this sort of thing from happening. In fact, I'm about to start a flex-time contract position that will allow me to work on toy/potentially-interesting projects on my own time, that I will own. In NYC.
YMMV...
(I guess my point is: do you have more than anecdotal evidence to back this up? I don't, but you don't seem to either - I'm not aware of anything in NYS law that requires all that you do while employed at a company, even when not done on employer dime/equipment/time/space, to be owned by said employer)
YMMV...
(I guess my point is: do you have more than anecdotal evidence to back this up? I don't, but you don't seem to either - I'm not aware of anything in NYS law that requires all that you do while employed at a company, even when not done on employer dime/equipment/time/space, to be owned by said employer)
I have more than anecdotal evidence, but it isn't in an online form.
Detailed discussions with a good lawyer about NY state law is that there are three classes of employee. Those are contractors, hourly, and professional. If you are not working by the project and don't have to track your time on a clock, then you are a professional employee. By default any work done by a professional employee which relates to that employee's job function belongs to the employer. (If a programmer writes a novel, the novel is probably his. But a program written is probably not his.) It is standard and customary for employers to add clauses to contracts reiterating that principle. This makes their case even stronger.
And yes, I've been personally caught on the wrong side of this. And yes, I personally know other people in an unrelated incident whose startup folded in exactly this manner.
OTOH if your contract has clauses protecting you then you are likely protected from this. However the common default is otherwise.
By contrast in California state law work done on your own time with your own equipment which does not use your employer's intellectual property is never a work for hire. This right cannot be signed away. The result is that your startup on the side is always legally protected.
And yes. This is among the reasons that I now live in California, and not NY.
Detailed discussions with a good lawyer about NY state law is that there are three classes of employee. Those are contractors, hourly, and professional. If you are not working by the project and don't have to track your time on a clock, then you are a professional employee. By default any work done by a professional employee which relates to that employee's job function belongs to the employer. (If a programmer writes a novel, the novel is probably his. But a program written is probably not his.) It is standard and customary for employers to add clauses to contracts reiterating that principle. This makes their case even stronger.
And yes, I've been personally caught on the wrong side of this. And yes, I personally know other people in an unrelated incident whose startup folded in exactly this manner.
OTOH if your contract has clauses protecting you then you are likely protected from this. However the common default is otherwise.
By contrast in California state law work done on your own time with your own equipment which does not use your employer's intellectual property is never a work for hire. This right cannot be signed away. The result is that your startup on the side is always legally protected.
And yes. This is among the reasons that I now live in California, and not NY.
There are so many ways I see to bypass this (pseudo)problem starting with (techno)logical and ending with legal solutions, I don't see how it matters at all.
"... So now we have the best of both worlds. We can back first-time entrepreneurs and have mentors and role models for them and we have those role models in their second, third, and fourth startups and that's the magic--that creates a sustainable startup economy that Silicon Valley has had for four decades now. We're three or four years into our second decade and I think it's going to be a great period for New York. ..."
I read the article half way, looked at some of the phrases and guessed http://www.avc.com / Fred Wilson who's been pushing NY as a Startup alternative for a number of years now. Will this idea crumble when finance recovers?
I read the article half way, looked at some of the phrases and guessed http://www.avc.com / Fred Wilson who's been pushing NY as a Startup alternative for a number of years now. Will this idea crumble when finance recovers?
I for one plan to open a startup in NYC.
Why? B/c there are no girls in silicon valley. If you are in your 20s, or early 30s, you are probably wasting your best dating years away.
I like to work hard/play hard and NYC seems the perfect place to do it. In SV, you work hard/get more bored. You are surrounded by boring suburbs. SF is fun for a while, but good luck finding dateable girls. (If you are into hipster chicks, it is perfect). Eventually work hard without corresponding fun becomes tedious, and people burn off, and move on.
NYC seems to have a better balance. When people leave NYC, (or Manhattan), they seem to settle for the cheaper boroughs, or New Jersey / RI. When people leave SF/SV, they just move away.
Fred Wilson should start emphasizing this more in his posts. He doesn't realize how bad the 'dating' situation is here, and just be in a city where you meet lots of well educated girls, is a huge perk for many single 20s-30something engineers.
Ps. I have been talking with some friends also, that are in the same boat. Our plan is to actually have at least an office there. Seriously. I guess it is just like rock bands, where people join them "to get the chicks", so will be my next startup. "To get the chicks". Life is too short. :D
Why? B/c there are no girls in silicon valley. If you are in your 20s, or early 30s, you are probably wasting your best dating years away.
I like to work hard/play hard and NYC seems the perfect place to do it. In SV, you work hard/get more bored. You are surrounded by boring suburbs. SF is fun for a while, but good luck finding dateable girls. (If you are into hipster chicks, it is perfect). Eventually work hard without corresponding fun becomes tedious, and people burn off, and move on.
NYC seems to have a better balance. When people leave NYC, (or Manhattan), they seem to settle for the cheaper boroughs, or New Jersey / RI. When people leave SF/SV, they just move away.
Fred Wilson should start emphasizing this more in his posts. He doesn't realize how bad the 'dating' situation is here, and just be in a city where you meet lots of well educated girls, is a huge perk for many single 20s-30something engineers.
Ps. I have been talking with some friends also, that are in the same boat. Our plan is to actually have at least an office there. Seriously. I guess it is just like rock bands, where people join them "to get the chicks", so will be my next startup. "To get the chicks". Life is too short. :D
If you're looking for dating, you should consider Austin. Plus you could save thousands of dollars a month in rent and pay no state income tax. I may have to write a post on this.
Having lived in both places, I can wholeheartedly agree. Don't come to SF/SV for the women. The downside of NY is the innovation is in finance, not in tech.
Hilarious. I haven't lived in the Valley but I've heard this from some of my friends who do. I guess it does make a lot of sense after some thought.
I feel like the quality of women in California is better than in NYC. Granted I'm in NJ, so our quality is even lower.
Who knows, maybe it's just a case of the grass being greener on the other side...but I feel like an 8 here, is only a 4-5 in California.
Who knows, maybe it's just a case of the grass being greener on the other side...but I feel like an 8 here, is only a 4-5 in California.
Maybe in So Cal, but in my short experience the Bay Area fell far short of my expectations. Especially compared to NYC, which imo has the most varied beautiful women in the country. I've been all over, but when I visited nyc for the first time I saw a hot chic of a different flavor, every ten steps. Not sure about Jersey, only been to EWR.
Contrast this with SF. I was there a couple days staying at the CLIFT a few months ago.I was sitting in my room and I decided to go out and see what the SF women were like. I went down to the bar and was presently suprised to see that it was packed...with men. I mean there might have been 2 girls for 50 guys.
Contrast this with SF. I was there a couple days staying at the CLIFT a few months ago.I was sitting in my room and I decided to go out and see what the SF women were like. I went down to the bar and was presently suprised to see that it was packed...with men. I mean there might have been 2 girls for 50 guys.
I wouldn't judge any city by what I find in a hotel bar.
Yes, but simultaneously, the competition in NYC would be stiffer. You're* a computer nerd with a startup that pays crap-all now but might score big in 5 years. The other three-quarters of the bar are lawyers or bankers who bring in a lot more than you do right now. Throw in all the actors and writers for good measure, and you can see that the competition is going to be challenging.
I'm not saying that that makes it not worth the numbers advantage, but it certainly tempers that edge. I'm also not saying girls are swayed entirely by a man's financial prospects.
* - generic example, not you specifically
I'm not saying that that makes it not worth the numbers advantage, but it certainly tempers that edge. I'm also not saying girls are swayed entirely by a man's financial prospects.
* - generic example, not you specifically
"... Why? B/c there are no girls in silicon valley. If you are in your 20s, or early 30s, you are probably wasting your best dating years away ..."
But you could try the jzw approach ("our 'use case' should be, there's a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?") and still stay in the valley ~ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jamie_Zawinski
But you could try the jzw approach ("our 'use case' should be, there's a 22 year old college student living in the dorms. How will this software get him laid?") and still stay in the valley ~ http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jamie_Zawinski
Wow... I have the exact same thoughts about Seattle. Maybe the west coast just sucks that way.
You are looking for Denver/Boulder my friend.
The cultural variety and quality is awesome in New York. The Valley has a critical mass of technology, but NYC has a critical mass of life.
</more-than-usual bias>
</more-than-usual bias>
And it's incredibly expensive. Let me put a word in for Chicago. 80% of the benefits of NYC, only 5% of the problems. For instance: no bedbugs.
(We're headquartered in NYC and Chicago).
(We're headquartered in NYC and Chicago).
You know who says NYC is awesome? People who already live there. Good luck finding a place to live in the city. Your options: room with four other people in a two bedroom or have insanely rich parents who can co-sign a lease with you.
Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly with Thomas on Chicago unless you're bootstrapping. If you don't want to do SV, Boston and LA (especially now with Jason's Open Angel Forum events) are pretty good options.
Of course, I disagree wholeheartedly with Thomas on Chicago unless you're bootstrapping. If you don't want to do SV, Boston and LA (especially now with Jason's Open Angel Forum events) are pretty good options.
The thing about NYC is that the high end (and much of Manhattan) is indeed incredibly expensive. And if you don't know NYC, you think that's all that's out there.
But New York is huge and you can find a little bit of everything. Brooklyn alone is larger than most large cities, with 2.5 million people (over half the size of metro SF, and about the same as metro Pittsburgh). Everything gets much, much cheaper when you leave the ultra-density of Manhattan. It's like any other city center, just scaled way up.
But New York is huge and you can find a little bit of everything. Brooklyn alone is larger than most large cities, with 2.5 million people (over half the size of metro SF, and about the same as metro Pittsburgh). Everything gets much, much cheaper when you leave the ultra-density of Manhattan. It's like any other city center, just scaled way up.
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This is only partially true. a 1br in SoMA is the same rent as a 1br in most of Manhattan, but you possibly get lesser space in Manhattan, so then you move out to brooklyn if you want more space.
Also, DUMBO in Brooklyn is fairly easily accessible and is becoming quite a startup hub. NYC seems expensive, but if you look hard enough you can find good deals anywhere.
Also, DUMBO in Brooklyn is fairly easily accessible and is becoming quite a startup hub. NYC seems expensive, but if you look hard enough you can find good deals anywhere.
Very true.
Don't be afraid to look outside of the manhattan/williamsburg/dumbo/long island city areas, either.
Most people who think that NYC is incredibly expensive (I've even gotten this from folks who live in La Crescenta, CA) haven't bothered to explore beyond Manhattan.
Don't be afraid to look outside of the manhattan/williamsburg/dumbo/long island city areas, either.
Most people who think that NYC is incredibly expensive (I've even gotten this from folks who live in La Crescenta, CA) haven't bothered to explore beyond Manhattan.
There is a VC community in Chicago, but not nearly so extensive as SV.
Funky, the city of Chicago has a pretty large help page on what a bed bug is and how to deal with them. http://bit.ly/6ZwDrU (evgov.cityofchicago.org)
Brooklyn really isn't that expensive - you can get a decent enough railroad style apartment for around $1100. That's more than enough space for one person. You can dial it down to $6-700/mo if you're willing to move in with flatmates.
I find that most of the expenses of NYC come with the nightlife. I actually live cheaper up here (rent + $400 or so for food + transport, monthly) than my brother does down in Durham, NC.
Disclaimers: I don't go out much, and when I do it's typically on the cheap. I live in a pre-gentrification area of Brooklyn (Bushwick), but I've only felt unsafe once - and that was due to some stupid mistakes on my part. The hipsters are starting to trickle over from Williamsburg, but it's not annoying-roof-drink-n-drugs-college-party-ville yet. My landlord sucks (but don't they all?). And I've never (Disclaimer^2: I've only been here for 3.5 yrs) had issues with bedbugs.
Brooklyn really isn't that expensive - you can get a decent enough railroad style apartment for around $1100. That's more than enough space for one person. You can dial it down to $6-700/mo if you're willing to move in with flatmates.
I find that most of the expenses of NYC come with the nightlife. I actually live cheaper up here (rent + $400 or so for food + transport, monthly) than my brother does down in Durham, NC.
Disclaimers: I don't go out much, and when I do it's typically on the cheap. I live in a pre-gentrification area of Brooklyn (Bushwick), but I've only felt unsafe once - and that was due to some stupid mistakes on my part. The hipsters are starting to trickle over from Williamsburg, but it's not annoying-roof-drink-n-drugs-college-party-ville yet. My landlord sucks (but don't they all?). And I've never (Disclaimer^2: I've only been here for 3.5 yrs) had issues with bedbugs.
Definitely don't have a startup in Miami. All the sun, beach, and girls will rob you of your motivation to work. Who wants to spend 18 hours at office when you've got 12 hours of blazing sunlight. You'll blow all your money on liquor and clubs while staying in a decent sized apartment. You'll stroll into work around noonish after doing a yoga session... on the beach. And you'll meet all types of beautiful women who don't speak english. Definitely DO NOT GO TO MIAMI.
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Do the same thing in California and state law makes the startup I've been working on in my time with my money, mine.
To me this simple fact gives California a huge advantage in maintaining a startup culture.