10 ms·

> The Valley is now the new East Coast people, the new Madison Avenue. Doing a hard startup in the Valley now is like trying to start Intel in 1960 New York. Ha

> The Valley is now the new East Coast people, the new Madison Avenue. Doing a hard startup in the Valley now is like trying to start Intel in 1960 New York. Hard startups are hard enough, without trying to do that. I think places like Detroit are promising for this. Lots of cheap real-estate, a local history of technical skills, and serious problems to solve (urban farming for example). Also due to the internet age, developing nations are also pretty promising for their lack of regulation, and extremely cheap location. But have other serious problems (like availability of smart trained talent).

killjoywashere 7y ago
Detroit has deep, fundamental problems. the weather, the utilities, the failed neighborhoods. You can cut costs significantly just by moving to San Diego and not have to explain to prospective applicants why living in a windswept frozen wasteland half the year is appealing.
- SolarNet 7y ago
  I think you missed the point. The valley used to be (still is actually) a windswept burning desert half the year. Which is part of what makes its 60's self comparable to Detroit.
  - aerosmile 7y ago
    Sorry, but for all of Valley's problems, the above characterization couldn't be more wrong. You might be thinking of a part of California east of I-5, but Valley as it pertains to the tech hub couldn't be more pleasant from the climate perspective.
    - Arelius 7y ago
      You might be right, but as a San Franciscan, who had to stop by the office in Palo Alto today, the sun did feel a bit oppressive =)
      - rhlsthrm 7y ago
        I feel like a lot of people don't realize how gloomy and cold SF's microclimate is.
- fenwick67 7y ago
  San Diego has deep, fundamental problems. the cost of living, the homelessness, the failed neighborhoods. You can cut costs significantly just by moving to Detroit and not have to explain to prospective applicants why living in a feces-riddled yet expensive nightmare is appealing.
  - killjoywashere 7y ago
    I grew up in the Midwest. There's no version of reality where I want to move back there.
  - adenverd 7y ago
    San Diego is one of the best places to live in the US. Cost of living, homelessness, and failed neighborhoods are no worse in San Diego than in Seattle or Austin. Benefits are perfect weather, proximity to Silicon Valley VCs, recruiting from the University of California system, and a willingness from talent to relocate to join your startup. Everywhere has challenges. Attracting real talent in the midwest is challenging. Cost of living in industry hubs is also challenging. There's no perfect location to start a startup. Source: 7 years at startups in the midwest, the south, Seattle, and now San Diego.
  - realbarack 7y ago
    I would be shocked if you found it easier to convince candidates to relocate to Detroit than to San Diego.
  - sybarita 7y ago
    lol "feces-riddled" san diego is probably the cleanest city in the country but ok
kortilla 7y ago
How is urban farming a serious problem to solve?
- lastres0rt 7y ago
  Food deserts ARE a serious problem. Growing [X] amount of produce locally would provide a much-needed source of cheap produce and/or revenue to the local community. There's also general health benefits of the added greenery consuming excess CO2. Even better, captured rain runoff goes back into the soil sooner rather than becoming further concentrated with toxic chemicals before it reenters the ecosystem.
  - barry-cotter 7y ago
    Food deserts are a non-problem arising almost entirely from lack of demand for healthy produce. > Neighborhood Food Outlets, Diet, and Obesity Among California Adults, 2007 and 2009 > Food outlets within walking distance (≤1.0 mile) were not strongly associated with dietary intake, BMI, or probabilities of a BMI of 25.0 or more or a BMI of 30.0 or more. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0123.htm https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0123.htm > The Geography of Poverty and Nutrition: Food Deserts and Food Choices Across the United States > Using a structural demand model, we find that exposing low-income households to the same availability and prices experienced by high-income households reduces nutritional inequality by only 9%, while the remaining 91% is driven by differences in demand. https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/AllcottDiamondDube_FoodDeserts.pdf https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/AllcottDiamondDube_FoodDe... The most energy and carbon efficient way of providing produce is to grow it where it’s easiest to do so and transport it to where there are consumers who want to buy it.
  - TeMPOraL 7y ago
    > There's also general health benefits of the added greenery consuming excess CO2. Added greenery only consumes excess carbon dioxide if you harvest it and bury it in a very, very deep hole, where neither sun nor oxygen can reach it. Otherwise, it only briefly buffers some amount of carbon.

killjoywashere 7y ago

Detroit has deep, fundamental problems. the weather, the utilities, the failed neighborhoods. You can cut costs significantly just by moving to San Diego and not have to explain to prospective applicants why living in a windswept frozen wasteland half the year is appealing.

SolarNet 7y ago
I think you missed the point. The valley used to be (still is actually) a windswept burning desert half the year. Which is part of what makes its 60's self comparable to Detroit.
- aerosmile 7y ago
  Sorry, but for all of Valley's problems, the above characterization couldn't be more wrong. You might be thinking of a part of California east of I-5, but Valley as it pertains to the tech hub couldn't be more pleasant from the climate perspective.
  - Arelius 7y ago
    You might be right, but as a San Franciscan, who had to stop by the office in Palo Alto today, the sun did feel a bit oppressive =)
    - rhlsthrm 7y ago
      I feel like a lot of people don't realize how gloomy and cold SF's microclimate is.
fenwick67 7y ago
San Diego has deep, fundamental problems. the cost of living, the homelessness, the failed neighborhoods. You can cut costs significantly just by moving to Detroit and not have to explain to prospective applicants why living in a feces-riddled yet expensive nightmare is appealing.
- killjoywashere 7y ago
  I grew up in the Midwest. There's no version of reality where I want to move back there.
- adenverd 7y ago
  San Diego is one of the best places to live in the US. Cost of living, homelessness, and failed neighborhoods are no worse in San Diego than in Seattle or Austin. Benefits are perfect weather, proximity to Silicon Valley VCs, recruiting from the University of California system, and a willingness from talent to relocate to join your startup. Everywhere has challenges. Attracting real talent in the midwest is challenging. Cost of living in industry hubs is also challenging. There's no perfect location to start a startup. Source: 7 years at startups in the midwest, the south, Seattle, and now San Diego.
- realbarack 7y ago
  I would be shocked if you found it easier to convince candidates to relocate to Detroit than to San Diego.
- sybarita 7y ago
  lol "feces-riddled" san diego is probably the cleanest city in the country but ok

kortilla 7y ago

How is urban farming a serious problem to solve?

lastres0rt 7y ago
Food deserts ARE a serious problem. Growing [X] amount of produce locally would provide a much-needed source of cheap produce and/or revenue to the local community. There's also general health benefits of the added greenery consuming excess CO2. Even better, captured rain runoff goes back into the soil sooner rather than becoming further concentrated with toxic chemicals before it reenters the ecosystem.
- barry-cotter 7y ago
  Food deserts are a non-problem arising almost entirely from lack of demand for healthy produce. > Neighborhood Food Outlets, Diet, and Obesity Among California Adults, 2007 and 2009 > Food outlets within walking distance (≤1.0 mile) were not strongly associated with dietary intake, BMI, or probabilities of a BMI of 25.0 or more or a BMI of 30.0 or more. https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0123.htm https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0123.htm > The Geography of Poverty and Nutrition: Food Deserts and Food Choices Across the United States > Using a structural demand model, we find that exposing low-income households to the same availability and prices experienced by high-income households reduces nutritional inequality by only 9%, while the remaining 91% is driven by differences in demand. https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/AllcottDiamondDube_FoodDeserts.pdf https://web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/AllcottDiamondDube_FoodDe... The most energy and carbon efficient way of providing produce is to grow it where it’s easiest to do so and transport it to where there are consumers who want to buy it.
- TeMPOraL 7y ago
  > There's also general health benefits of the added greenery consuming excess CO2. Added greenery only consumes excess carbon dioxide if you harvest it and bury it in a very, very deep hole, where neither sun nor oxygen can reach it. Otherwise, it only briefly buffers some amount of carbon.