vestanpance wrote >>
so your real beef is that it's in Dublin and not downtown? Nothing to do with the funding?
Vest. Yes, that is part of what got me. The other part continues to be the focus. What I read in a supporting blog post for the launch of the center was that they were looking for the "long tail of innovation" "two guys working in their garage" whom they can support with this center. I'm not saying there aren't startups in Dublin, but the concentration of "two guys in their garage" is probably that. All of two guys who will actually build a company that gets any legs with the potential to scale and even that will take forever. As for as the next big biotech or advanced materials simmering somewhere in a Dublin garage, sorry but I don't buy it at all.
As for the guys in the garage making the transition to a 40,000 square ft. co-working facility. It seems a bit at odds, excessive and out of touch with reality for a bootstrapped startup.
In contrast, the downtown area has a concentration of entrepreneurs who continue to be unsupported. We have a better alignment and greater density of the real-life "two guys in a garage" demographic downtown and for some odd reason TechColumbus continues to squander this opportunity. I find that wasted opportunity infuriating as we continue to lose brilliant young people attempting to build companies who leave because "the city doesn't get it". I can think of five off the top of my head.
I'm not saying TechColumbus isn't trying and I thought their support of Startup Weekend was a great start. That said, more needs to be done. There are super slim capital pickens for these elusive two guys in a garage and a disproportionate leadership void to match.
As I read about and interact with other cities that have a deep, established venture culture that has moved to address the market needs created by the "two guys in a garage" I see an opportunity for TechColumbus to do the same given the market void and need Downtown. That hasn't happened. Given their average placement I can't figure out why.
In the meantime, what am I supposed to say to the next brilliant kid working on the next big thing who is thinking of moving because they continue to be unsupported? Right now, I would still say run like hell and don't turn back. BTW - Cropcho is kicking ass in Brooklyn and it pisses me off that we have no where locally to send a young person like that.
Y Combinator:
http://ycombinator.com/
TechStars:
http://www.techstars.org/
Launchbox:
http://www.launchboxdigital.com/
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Launched in August 2010, TheMetropreneur.com is a local online resource devoted to small business development and entrepreneurship. Its aim is to tell the stories of Central Ohio's business community, foster regional economic development and assist entrepreneurs with its resource-heavy focus.