What is the best city to do an Indie Startup?
San Francisco probably still holds the crown if you're venture funded. If you're an indie startup, there has to be better places, right?
I'm based in London with https://www.bitcompare.net
It has a very healthy startup ecosystem and I like the fact that it's got other things going on other than tech. It's also proven to be pretty good in fintech. I'm certain there are better places though.
I'd love to know what you guys think is the best place?
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It shouldn't matter these days IMO
I moved to Mexico City from California in June this year for reasons unrelated to indie hacking, but I feel much more motivated and energized to build my SaaS here than I did in California. I believe these are the reasons why:
Cost of living. Mexico City is expensive compared to most parts of Mexico, and it's still cheap here relative to where I lived in California. Knowing that my "ramen profitability" is much more achievable in Mexico City (or perhaps elsewhere) takes a lot of stress off of my mind.
Mexico as a whole is full of people wanting to have their own businesses, more so than the US in my opinion. This is likely because there's less regulation and red paper involved with starting a business, so the barriers to entry are much lower. Because of this, I feel like I'm actually in an environment where people want to build for themselves and their community, instead of being surrounded by people trying to hit a 6-figure salary by working their way up corporate.
Don't have much experience yet, but sharing my experience and hopefully others will jump in to add theirs.
I interned for two summers in a small city with a healthy tech community (Indianapolis). I was living with interns at start-ups across the city and thought it seemed like a nice place to start out. Founders all seemed super well connected across the city, and things seemed really open and supportive.
In a bigger city now and I don't really have a pulse on the start up community but I could see it being easier to get left behind or lost in the hustle and bustle.
I believe there are 2 parameters for that:
A startup ecosystem - giving you good access to customers and fellow hackers - is crucial to take you and your perspective further and also get you some customers (Even if your product is totally online, your physical surrounding can still play a crucial role)
Cost of living is important, because that will define what you need for 'ramen profitability'.
You need to find the optimum between those two.
I disagree with "it shouldn't matter these days"
I think your city / where you live makes a huge impact on how you view the world, who you meet, and the relationships you build -- i.e. who you become.
This is a great essay from Paul Graham:
http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html
I don't think there is necessarily a "best place" (maybe SF?) -- but I think the place where you fit is what matters. If you are happy and energized by your surroundings, you are going to create better work. Too much comfort is probably not a good thing.
FWIW, I'm in Berlin and I love it. Moving back to North America (to be closer to family), and deciding between LA and Toronto.