I’ve spent some time in the Bay Area (and will be there this weekend) so I understand the weather issue. I also understand the cost of rental space. The two together mean people really do start-ups in garages- it’s pretty mild and you can just open the door up on most days. Sometime I wonder how much weather is a factor in the number of start-ups produced here in Upstate NY as compared to a climate like the Bay Area.

Garages are out- we’re either experiencing winter cold (less so lately) or summer heat (hottest year on record this year) and in between it can be 40 one day and 75 the next. A lot of start-ups seem to be done by older white males working in office parks. I work in a company (day job) that is located in an ‘incubator’ space even though we’re far past the start-up stage. This is probably the least inspiring place for a start-up I can imagine: Cubes, bad coffee, a two mile drive to any amenity, sterile environment and a lot of white middle-aged guys with phones on their belts. To be fair, most of the companies in here are hard technology companies: materials, optics, energy, etc. A lot of them seem to be one guy in an office.

Comparing this to the Valley is patently unfair but I really think that our area needs to think differentlty about creating a true start-up environment, one that inspires young entrepreneurs with co-locations that are affordable and filled with other similar companies. My first company was in an old loft building downtown in 2001 and we saw and made friends in the hallways and at the nearby coffee shops and bars. We sent each other business and there was a community feel. Around that same time this ‘official’ incubator opened way out in the suburbs (I can see a tractor plowing from my window) and the start-up scene turned into something depressingly unappealing.

Since I have a virtual start-up (no employees, no office, no equipment, etc.) with 24PageBooks and I work in an established software company, I have been contemplating these two polar opposites. Frankly, I’d rather be in the garage with a fan and a space heater.

Part Two of this is going to deal with raising money Upstate- it’s practically impossible for the same reasons we have incubators in suburban office parks.