5 ms·

Wanted: a cofounder willing to move to a Moroccan surf town

39 points by yallahaline 11y ago

tapatio 11y ago
Some Moroccan women are smoking. I'd do it just for that.
lem72 11y ago
Cool! I am doing something similar in Nicaragua. Best of luck to you!
- presty 11y ago
  Curious about your burn rate in Nicaragua and level of safety. Care to share?
jaoued 11y ago
My humble advice is find a co-founder first and then both of you decide to move to Taghazout. Trying to find your co-founder is more important than the location. Mixing the two could be a recipe for disaster. The most difficult thing in the life of any startup is finding the right co-founder. Best to run solo than getting it wrong. All the best.
- the_watcher 11y ago
  I'm curious as to why the author seems to be so set on Taghazout specifically.
  - yallahaline 11y ago
    Already popular with entrepreneurs Good surf/yoga/creative/authentic vibe Close to an international airport Sunny and different from Europe :) http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-american-startup-decided-to-work-from-moroccan-surf-town-taghazout http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-american-...
ohitsdom 11y ago
Slightly off topic: I love the thought of working at an awesome location. "Surf town" sounds really fun. But as a developer, I cringed hard when I saw the picture of them actually working. I know it's only a picture and I'm sure he wants to convey a cool vibe, but it looks really haphazard. Hopefully they have other rooms with more comfortable workspaces. My ideal setup is a multi-monitored station with a nice chair and an awesome view of a beach.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  I'm imagining a surfer zen master saying, "dude it is not the size of the screen that matters, but what is in the mind."
  - mbrock 11y ago
    Surfing Zen Master has a point. I work every day on a laptop switching between my browser, Slack, and a full-screen 80 column terminal. Yeah, different needs for different people & tasks. But there's nothing intrinsically wrong or difficult with working on just a laptop. I dream of being able to work on just an e-ink tablet with Bluetooth keyboard...
    - Scarbutt 11y ago
      What about ergonomics? don't you think a desktop computer helps here?
      - mbrock 11y ago
        Maybe, but working fewer hours and taking breaks is probably more important. Sitting down for hours at a time while being stressed and tired is bad no matter the perfect battle station, ya know? Maybe I'm thinking of a somewhat utopian scenario, but I'd take a laptop plus a nice house in a nice environment over most office rooms any day. And I think it's really important not to overwork. To the point where I'd optimize everything around it. If the software I'm making requires me to be at a computer coding or fixing bugs for eight hours every day, I'd consider that a problem to be fixed immediately. But that's a much larger issue! Anyway, different strokes, and it's great to have someplace to sit, but even if you give me a private office I'll probably migrate towards the kitchen table if only to have better coffee access—or go outside.
outworlder 11y ago
What about infrastructure? High-speed internet? Security? Government bureaucracy? Cost of living? Business opportunities? Increased equipment corrosion? A 'surf' town sounds great. But I just moved away from a popular tourist destination in Brazil, due to some of the above concerns.
- yallahaline 11y ago
  For the participant to the program: internet is good enough, but I'm looking to get a much better plan in the fall. Security is not a problem. For the cofounder: bureaucracy is not as smooth as in Europe or North America, but it's nothing impossible. Some products are not available in Morocco, but you can easily get them from Europe. Clients are mostly coming from Europe and North America :)
- tiagocesar 11y ago
  Just curious, where were you from?
dang 11y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050
slyrus 11y ago
Posting from Marrakech via hotel WiFi to confirm that the internet seems to work reasonably well in Morocco, FWTW. Perhaps Taghazout is cooler, but, personally, I'd find it hard to get work done in this 45 C heat.
- yallahaline 11y ago
  It's usually around 20 to 30C, with a nice breeze. Marrakech has a different weather altogether.
rwhitman 11y ago
Maybe I'm just jealous but has this concept of a startup retreat achieved any real world success stories someone can point to? Wouldn't being isolated in a remote corner of the world put a real damper on being able to build business relationships?
codecamper 11y ago
We just got back from 6 months in Morocco. We work with technology. Me: programmer. She: designer. Dog: just does the cute thing. We travel by camper van. I'll contact your site and we'll drop by in the Fall if you all will be around. Cheers- Matt

39 points by yallahaline 11y ago

tapatio 11y ago

Some Moroccan women are smoking. I'd do it just for that.

lem72 11y ago

Cool! I am doing something similar in Nicaragua. Best of luck to you!

presty 11y ago
Curious about your burn rate in Nicaragua and level of safety. Care to share?

jaoued 11y ago

My humble advice is find a co-founder first and then both of you decide to move to Taghazout. Trying to find your co-founder is more important than the location. Mixing the two could be a recipe for disaster. The most difficult thing in the life of any startup is finding the right co-founder. Best to run solo than getting it wrong. All the best.

the_watcher 11y ago
I'm curious as to why the author seems to be so set on Taghazout specifically.
- yallahaline 11y ago
  Already popular with entrepreneurs Good surf/yoga/creative/authentic vibe Close to an international airport Sunny and different from Europe :) http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-american-startup-decided-to-work-from-moroccan-surf-town-taghazout http://www.thebluehouse.io/blog/2014/12/1/why-this-american-...

ohitsdom 11y ago

Slightly off topic: I love the thought of working at an awesome location. "Surf town" sounds really fun. But as a developer, I cringed hard when I saw the picture of them actually working. I know it's only a picture and I'm sure he wants to convey a cool vibe, but it looks really haphazard. Hopefully they have other rooms with more comfortable workspaces. My ideal setup is a multi-monitored station with a nice chair and an awesome view of a beach.

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
I'm imagining a surfer zen master saying, "dude it is not the size of the screen that matters, but what is in the mind."
- mbrock 11y ago
  Surfing Zen Master has a point. I work every day on a laptop switching between my browser, Slack, and a full-screen 80 column terminal. Yeah, different needs for different people & tasks. But there's nothing intrinsically wrong or difficult with working on just a laptop. I dream of being able to work on just an e-ink tablet with Bluetooth keyboard...
  - Scarbutt 11y ago
    What about ergonomics? don't you think a desktop computer helps here?
    - mbrock 11y ago
      Maybe, but working fewer hours and taking breaks is probably more important. Sitting down for hours at a time while being stressed and tired is bad no matter the perfect battle station, ya know? Maybe I'm thinking of a somewhat utopian scenario, but I'd take a laptop plus a nice house in a nice environment over most office rooms any day. And I think it's really important not to overwork. To the point where I'd optimize everything around it. If the software I'm making requires me to be at a computer coding or fixing bugs for eight hours every day, I'd consider that a problem to be fixed immediately. But that's a much larger issue! Anyway, different strokes, and it's great to have someplace to sit, but even if you give me a private office I'll probably migrate towards the kitchen table if only to have better coffee access—or go outside.

outworlder 11y ago

What about infrastructure? High-speed internet? Security? Government bureaucracy? Cost of living? Business opportunities? Increased equipment corrosion? A 'surf' town sounds great. But I just moved away from a popular tourist destination in Brazil, due to some of the above concerns.

yallahaline 11y ago
For the participant to the program: internet is good enough, but I'm looking to get a much better plan in the fall. Security is not a problem. For the cofounder: bureaucracy is not as smooth as in Europe or North America, but it's nothing impossible. Some products are not available in Morocco, but you can easily get them from Europe. Clients are mostly coming from Europe and North America :)
tiagocesar 11y ago
Just curious, where were you from?

dang 11y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8716050

slyrus 11y ago

Posting from Marrakech via hotel WiFi to confirm that the internet seems to work reasonably well in Morocco, FWTW. Perhaps Taghazout is cooler, but, personally, I'd find it hard to get work done in this 45 C heat.

yallahaline 11y ago
It's usually around 20 to 30C, with a nice breeze. Marrakech has a different weather altogether.

rwhitman 11y ago

Maybe I'm just jealous but has this concept of a startup retreat achieved any real world success stories someone can point to? Wouldn't being isolated in a remote corner of the world put a real damper on being able to build business relationships?

codecamper 11y ago

We just got back from 6 months in Morocco. We work with technology. Me: programmer. She: designer. Dog: just does the cute thing. We travel by camper van. I'll contact your site and we'll drop by in the Fall if you all will be around. Cheers- Matt