America's startup boom around remote work and technology is still going strong | Hacker News Reader

America's startup boom around remote work and technology is still going strong

npr.org

38 pointsrntn12 comments

Migrating away from the most expensive cities and forgoing expensive office space is an obvious boon for startups. Which is why it's so odd that for most of a generation we mostly saw the opposite. How many companies did we see led by virgin founders, with zero concern for actually making money, sign outrageously large leases in the world's most expensive zip codes? And then, in an act defiance against god, proceeded to make further capital expenditures in the form of pool tables and Aeron chairs and artisan kegs of beer. Or, as a doomed biotech startup I worked for in SF tried to facilitate, a company trip to Burning Man.

I guess it was a 'fun' era, but it always rubbed me wrong. For me, the real perks were having a job that was not overly regimented and suffocated by bureaucracy/HR, a job that offered a chance at wealth beyond perpetual wage labor (while still earning a wage), and a job that would provide constant change and opportunities. That is a lot! For other people, it may be about what they get to work on or who they work with or the influence they are afforded within the organization. All good stuff, and rare. But the other 'perks' were designed to either keep you in the office for unreasonable hours or to recreate some aspects of college, I guess? I never got that last angle. I already went to college. It was great. But then I lived in a major city and had a decent income, so activities like eating in a cafeteria or playing foosball were no longer on my agenda.

Humans are social creatures and it’s trying to create a social environment. Where is mystery here? Oh yeah, this is an internet forum where asocial people tend to gather.

> Oh yeah, this is an internet forum where asocial people tend to gather.

And these people work in an industry where socialization is mostly irrelevant, too.

So much of the tech energy before the pandemic was seen in conferences and hackathons etc. Many of these had people who were not super social.

The reality is that people do better when they congregate in areas with other smart people. The agglomeration effect is real and well proven.

It may be true that with WFH and remote work this isn’t as true as it used to be but it explains why people were willing to pay even twice in costs if it increased the odds of success and the size of success by 10-100x.

> So much of the tech energy before the pandemic was seen in conferences and hackathons etc. Many of these had people who were not super social.

> The reality is that people do better when they congregate in areas with other smart people. The agglomeration effect is real and well proven.

Eh, I went to a few conferences before the pandemic. It was always mostly irrelevant. People seemed to go only because it was a chance to travel on company money, and get some swag/booze for free. The talks were always very inconsequential.

> it explains why people were willing to pay even twice in costs if it increased the odds of success and the size of success by 10-100x.

[citation needed]

I have zero interest on relying on coworkers for my social life. I've made a select few good friends through work over the years, but generally the people I work with do not relate to me on the same level as the people I voluntarily associate with.

I suspect part of it is a performative marketing towards potential investors. "Look at us, we can do this because we are already successful and shall inevitably grow further, here are also some signals that try to establish that we are a member of a group of other past or current success-y companies or executives."

In summary: coffee shops moved out from downtown, and a ton of AI startups.

The first group is just movement of demand, not net new anything.

The second group is mostly froth and the sheer number of 1-person AI startups that will fold within a year is not significant. In that group is likely to be some enduring, valuable businesses, but... under 10% at most.

It is mentioned in the article, but then quickly dismissed: people seeking income via creating new businesses after being laid off during the lockdowns.

I think there is a secondary effect here. Many people remember how many jobs were deemed "non-essential" and how many people were laid off. Building your own business is one way to insulate oneself from this.

I think some amount of continued momentum is people preparing for the next time government overeach interferes with their ability to feed and house themselves and their families.

We need a better way to connect the job seekers to the companies actually hiring. To fight AI spam, perhaps the world will go back to in-person meetups and hiring fairs.

> There's now a hole lacking vibrant economic activity in many major business districts, and a delicious fried dough of new business opportunities in the suburbs surrounding them. Office workers need their doughnuts, coffee and sandwiches near their office, which is now more often at home.

Bidenomics baybee!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com