"New York cares too much about money. Palo Alto is home to nerdy idealists who want their product to be perfect."
- Paul Graham, Founder of Y Combinator
"It's a fickle town, a tough town. They getcha, boy. They don't let you escape with minor scratches and bruises. They put scars on you here."
- Reggie Jackson
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Silicon Valley is a far cry and three thousand miles from New York City: They smile. We sneer. They exercise. We smoke. They improve. We survive.
Such differences have convinced certain members of the community that the startup scene in New York will never hold a (soy) candle to Silicon Valley. One such member of the community is Paul Graham, Founder of Y Combinator, a firm that funds young startups. Paul "kicked off the tech startup incubator's first official New York event (on September 26, 2011) with a half hour-long speech peppered with remarks about New York's inferiority to Silicon Valley. 'It's a cultural problem that goes way back,' explained the venture capitalist . . .
Hubs for particular activity tend to stay hubs unless they help out their rivals by starting to suck. Silicon Valley is not starting to suck. It's more of a startup hub than ever. NYC has definitely improved relative to the Valley but that's because it started from practically nothing and has grown over the past 10 years.
- http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/09/silicon-valley-meets-new-yo... scene-stirs-coast-tech-feud/42991/
Not all New Yorkers received Paul's comments well. Case in point, Courtney Myers, East Coast Editor of the The Next Web, which is based in Brooklyn:
I think what was most disappointing about Graham's speech is the sense of competition he brought to the table. When I first moved to New York City a childhood friend of mine described it as combustible. No one moves to New York to relax and kick their feet up. Citizens pay a high price to live amongst the best and brightest because they seek inspiration through opportunities that thrive on intellectual collaboration. Perhaps, this kind of collaboration between the two coasts should have been the focus of the evening.
- http://thenextweb.com/entrepreneur/2011/09/27/paul-graham-on-why-new-york-cit... beat-silicon-valley/
With all due respect to collaboration, I take no issue with the "sense of competition (Paul) brought to the table." If Paul wants to battle, let's battle. Battles have good outcomes:
Plus, certain journalists (Robert Scoble) pay no attention to your company unless it is engaged in a battle. Well, Robert, if you get bored with Google versus Facebook, here is another battle in which to sink your ink:
Silicon Valley versus New York City.
Paul Graham \fired the opening shots. And, whatever Vegas says about New York's odds, Myne stands behind what New York is fighting for, and in spite of, and the people---New Yorkers---on our side:
- In Silicon Valley, what matters is the ideal. In New York, what matters is the truth.
- Silicon Valley residents enjoy one season. New Yorkers endures all four.
- Silicon Valley is monochromatic: Green. East River alone is more heterochromatic than that. (For our younger readers, "heterochromatic" does not mean "fun to drink.")
- The Prius gets you from A to B in Silicon Valley. New Yorkers get from A to B at West Fourth on the subway---more environmentally conscious, more rats, more cats.
- New Yorkers exercise, too.
- We just have different footwear.
- In one corner, then, is the Valley: Ideal, Summer, Green, Prius, Cycling and Sandals. In the other corner, the Alley: Truth, Every Season, Every Color in the Rainbow, the Subway, Dancing and Boots.
- Not surprisingly, we do not "like" things in New York. We hate and we love.
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In sum, Silicon Valley is about developing greener ways to clean your dirty laundy. Myne, and New York City, are about diving head-first into your dirty laundry.
Hate us or love us---just don't like us.
