Don't move to SF at all. It never ceases to amaze me how 1st time web start-ups think moving there is the only way to succeed. Grrrr.
We're located in Bath, England. That's right, not even London. We launched our new startup in June 2010 and we just hit $600K in yearly recurring rev. MRR grew by almost 20% this month. Don't believe the TechCrunch hype about funding and the Silicon Valley scene.
Ryan I am impressed with all of your achievements including http://thinkvitamin.com/ but I am not sure your advice is as sound as your business. Your team has built a great brand globally over many years with the conference business, and in my opinion you have done a nice job leveraging that brand equity for your new startup.
I do agree that if you are building a revenue focused company, you don't have to go to San Francisco.
But it's hard to argue against how easy it is to raise money or get acquired in the valley vs anywhere else in the world. Look at how easy it was for Path and Instagram to raise money and to get cheap money at that. In other markets many VCs want to see revenue not just traction and that revenue can work against you and lower your valuation - making the money more expensive.
For reference to Instagram, see this Chris Dixon interview with Kevin Systrom
"He also talks about how the serendipity of Silicon Valley contributed to the formation Instagram, remembering a party that Dixon once threw in San Francisco where Systrom ended up meeting his key angel investors."
It does make me a little sad that there are companies that are not "revenue focused". It would be a shame if the word "revenue" started getting thrown around with the same disdain as "lifestyle business".
Maybe. The experience and connections one makes out here are often worth it, and you can find very cheap housing sharing a room in the valley, or one of the more remote parts of the city.
Overall, it took about a three months to get on my feet after moving out here, but it was absolutely worth it.
Seconded. Moving here will help you find a cofounder, meet lots of other entrepreneurs who can help you, and build relationships with investors. The economic benefits of being involved in the startup scene may outweigh the high cost of living.
Which is why I advocate splitting the difference, and moving there once you can already survive. Ramen profitability is a great boon to negotiations, remember.
"Moving here will help you find a cofounder, meet lots of other entrepreneurs who can help you, and build relationships with investors." Can you share some specific experiences (how you met them, how they helped you, outcomes,etc)?
Not sure about the wisdom of this; it could go pretty strongly in either direction depending on the individual.
If you're young and single you can live pretty cheaply and surround yourself with the inspiring people and general atmosphere of silicon valley. The fact that you have some expenses may help light a fire under you and accelerate your progress.
On the other hand, if you are highly self-motivated, and you are productive from your parents house, then you're likely not missing out on much in the short term, because most of your time is going to be spent coding anyway.
I strongly disagree. I recently moved out of Austin to pursue my startup in San Francisco. In my first week here I met countless startups, made some REAL connections, sat in a conference room (and got amazing feedback on my product) for hours with a legendary entrepreneur that everyone here has heard of, ate amazing food, etc etc.
I made more forward progress here in one week than I did in the last year in Austin.
The vibe here is insane and people are genuinely willing to help founders who are just starting out. Forget about stretching your money "a bit further" with mom and dad. Get out here ASAP...
BTW, I currently live in SOMA and pay about $900/month to live with 2 really cool guys who work at startups.
Would you mind elaborating on that? Staying at a Hackerhouse is relatively inexpensive(~550/mo). Food? ~700. Cali Taxes are, of course very high, but I don't see how SF is less expensive than Boston/NYC. Then again you could get by with $2k/month in SF but it's a question of how the quality of your life would be.
Staying at your parents' house might be free ($0/mo). Food? I think $700's a high quote, even for SF, but you can save quite a bit eating at home in Bumblefuck, Alabama relative to San Fran. Most people don't live in Boston and NYC, either.
I'm not talking about stretching living expenses from 6 months to 8 months - I'm talking about stretching them to 24 months.
