[sudo-discuss] Startup House
GtwoG PublicOhOne
g2g-public01 at att.net
Fri Mar 28 15:02:26 PDT 2014
Pete's "keep the critical commentary to a minimum" = "don't worry, be
happy." Right, we should only criticise The Government, not
entrepreneurs (especially never criticise Google or Facebook), and if
we're really really lucky, some of us might hit the jackpot and make the
bigtime bucks. Right.
When I was getting started, it was understood from widespread
experience, "don't live with your coworkers, you'll drive each other
crazy."
24/7 immersion? No place to escape from work, no time to escape from work.
Double rooms? No privacy or solitude, even when you're sleeping.
Manage a tech biz that's also a collective household? "Item 3 at
today's Board meeting is, Who is leaving dishes in the sink? (the
kitchen camera wasn't working last week), and item 4 is nasty bathroom
smells (the bathroom camera is working so we know who you are)."
Relationship problems? Expect them to become a Topic of Conversation
with all of your coworkers. (What relationship?, you're sleeping next
to your boss.)
Meat-eaters, vegetarians, vegans? Experience the thrill of
"competition" over deciding kitchen policy. If you lose, tough, you can
eat somewhere other than home, if you don't mind being left out of
important meetings over dinner.
Misc. details of your personal life all subject to group process, and
don't you dare complain because this all goes on your resume, and
getting thrown out of the house is Very Bad for your career.
It's Reality TV meets Social Darwinism, and that's a show you ought to
think twice about starring in.
For those who wish to try it, good luck, but remember that "luck" isn't
a scientific theory or an engineering principle.
And if you really want 24/7 immersion, join the military, and get your
hands on some really awesome technology! Who needs big screens and
video games when you have a real tank?
-G.
======
On 14-03-28-Fri 12:41 PM, Pete Forsyth wrote:
> Want to chime in with a general observation: this thread was started
> as an effort to find one or two people who ARE excited about the idea,
> and want to devote substantial energy to making it happen.
>
> Instead there has been a lot of commentary about why it might NOT be
> the "idea that saves Oakland" or whatever.
>
> I think it's important this list be a resource for people looking for
> partners to hack on stuff with. I am sure I'm like lots of you, 99% of
> the stuff that gets proposed is not going to motivate me to the point
> of rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. Some hacking projects
> are up your alley, some are not.
>
> Couldn't we try to keep the critical commentary to a minimum? So list
> members can find people to work with with more easily?
>
> -Pete
> [[User:Peteforsyth]] on the wiki
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 12:25 PM, Andrew <andrew at roshambomedia.com
> <mailto:andrew at roshambomedia.com>> wrote:
>
> Did you like how in college you didn't have to worry about taking
> care of your self or putting any effort in to making friends and
> connections? Then come live at a start-up house, where money >
> REAL LIFE.
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 12:21 PM, Phil Wolff <pwolff at gmail.com
> <mailto:pwolff at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> So here's the pitch:
>
> You want to come to Silicon Valley and be a successful founder
> while you're still young, hungry, and unencumbered?
>
> You'll need a place to stay, great network connectivity,
> partners (this is a team sport), connections, and mentors.
> Location matters: you'll want ready access to neighborhood
> conveniences; to San Francisco, Palo Alto, and San Jose
> tech/finance hubs; to parking and transit.
>
> If you're admitted to the Acme House: You'll get...
>
> * 24x7 immersion in startup culture, just the way Facebook
> started.
> * Great bandwidth, food, whiteboard walls, projectors,
> infinite post-its, and everything you need to focus
> * Serious networking opportunities within the house, the
> better to find partners
> * Access to an angel network and other outside networking
> opportunities
> * Weekly check-ins with our incubator-vetted mentors
>
> We limit the time you can spend here. We expect you to
> graduate to your own space inside a year.
>
> Here's the reality:
>
> * This is more expensive than a simple real-estate play.
> You're writing checks for recruiting, project staff,
> common facilities, and housekeeping (frat house squalor)
> above and beyond rent. You're selling
> rent+incubatorship+camaraderie and have to make that case.
> Most houses or apartment buildings in Oakland need some
> expensive retrofitting to get high bandwidth and enough
> power and outlets. Fiber is relatively unavailable
> (although San Leandro has local fiber loops). Depending on
> where you locate, working things out with neighbors and
> City permits can be time consuming and costly.
> * The money comes
> o from tenants (charging a big premium to people
> relatively unwilling to pay it) or
> o from investors (who subsidize the house in exchange
> for equity or rights to equity) or
> o from collateral sources (producers of a reality TV
> show; sponsors who seek some marketing advantage).
> * You have to fight expensive churn: very high startup
> failure rates drive tenants out, there's drama from close
> quarters, and tenants move out if they find outside
> funding or co-founders living elsewhere in the Bay. Normal
> landlords seek long term tenants who pay on time without
> fuss.
>
> So it's tough.
>
> It would really help if the house has a tight focus. B2B
> Growth Hacks startups. Neurochem tech startups.
> Wearables/fashion/QS consumer startups. Health/clinical
> startups. This assures a more valuable space design (e.g.
> arduino startups would need a good hacker space) more synergy,
> better chances of connections having value, and an easier time
> attracting partners, investors, media.
>
> - Phil
>
>
>
> Phil Wolff
>
> pwolff at gmail.com
> skype:evanwolf
>
> +1-510-343-5664 <tel:%2B1-510-343-5664>
>
> http://about.me/evanwolf bio
> http://twitter.com/evanwolf @
> http://www.linkedin.com/in/philwolff cv
> http://LetMyDataGo.org blog
> http://www.facebook.com/philwolff face
>
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 10:15 AM, Sonja Trauss
> <sonja.trauss at gmail.com <mailto:sonja.trauss at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> I don't understand start-up houses - why not rent a house
> with roomates? What is the value added of the start up house?
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 8:53 AM, Jehan Tremback
> <jehan.tremback at gmail.com
> <mailto:jehan.tremback at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> A guy I work with started and ran one in SOMA for a
> year. I asked whether he would like to help on this,
> but he is sick of that kind of stuff.
>
> They basically took over an empty building (legally),
> and renovated it into sort of a cross between a hostel
> and a community home for entrepreneurs (and
> wantrepreneurs) from out of town.
>
> They charged around $1000 a month for a dorm like
> situation where you would share a room. That's
> definitely a pretty high price, and may make people
> want to start yelling about rent-seeking capitalists,
> but the reality is that they barely turned a profit on
> that after a year, after legal and construction expenses.
>
> They basically spent the whole time fighting the SF
> zoning bureaucracy, and were really just delaying
> their inevitable expulsion from the building by the city.
>
> You could probably reduce expenses considerably by-
> 1) using volunteer construction labor under some
> cooperative scheme (you'll still need to pay a bunch
> for skilled trades, like electricians and plumbers).
> 2) either choosing a building zoned appropriately, or
> not informing the city of your plans to have people
> live there.
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 28, 2014 at 12:23 AM, David Keenan
> <dkeenan44 at gmail.com <mailto:dkeenan44 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> I've worked for a lot of startups, but what is a
> 'Startup House'?
>
>
> On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, Liberty Madison
> <libertymadison at gmail.com
> <mailto:libertymadison at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Hey!
> Sudoers
>
> Anyone on our list skilled in writing business
> plans?
> Anyone passionate about Start up projects?
>
> A Former Mayor and I are working on seeking
> funding for a new Startup House .
> He suggested I find a team ASAP.
> A person who can write a killer plan while
> conveying the vision as well as a person to
> develop a splash page for investors.
> And since I know Sudo has so many talented
> folks I thought I would throw it out here first!
>
> If you are interested to be a part of this
> FAST paced project or have ideas please
> message me.
> Would love to hack this out with a Sudoer
> You will be compensated in flat fee or equity
> once funding is secured
> So If you are passionate about startups and
> want to be a part of a cool, fun, innovate
> project that helps people grow their
> startup/project/invention please
> reach out
> libertymadison at gmail.com
>
> 415.937.3785 <tel:415.937.3785> Text/Talk
> About.me/LibertyMadison
> <http://about.me/LibertyMadison>
>
>
>
>
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> --
> -------
> Andrew Lowe
> Cell: 831-332-2507 <tel:831-332-2507>
> http://roshambomedia.com
>
>
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