I've wondered about this, VC's aren't stupid, what's the disconnect?
If I were starting a company in CA I'd go to Davis. (FWIW)
And what’s in Davis? For all intents and purposes it’s just more expensive Atlanta
But we're talking about starting a company. Typically you'll already have a technical co-founder or someone, no? If you grow you can grow to SF. Has no VC ever asked, "Would you be willing to relocate to <CHEAPER CITY> for two years?"
> And what’s in Davis?
UC Davis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_California,_Davi...
> In 2006, Davis was ranked as the second most educated city (in terms of the percentage of residents with graduate degrees) in the US by CNN Money Magazine...
~https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davis,_California
Have you been there? It's nice. :-) It's close to the Bay Area and has lower costs and UC Davis. (And you don't have to put up with the constant cold winds! It's toasty there all year 'round!)
Is UCD so much better than Georgia Tech? Some might disagree.
Not surprised it has most ppl with degrees - it’s probably mostly school staff and some intel employees.
It’s not that close that you can actually drive to the bay in a reasonable amount of time on a workday
Save millions of dollars?
> Is UCD so much better than Georgia Tech? Some might disagree.
But then you'd be in Georgia...
> Not surprised it has most ppl with degrees - it’s probably mostly school staff and some intel employees.
That's my point: it's a University town crawling with smart people.
> It’s not that close that you can actually drive to the bay in a reasonable amount of time on a workday
So what? It's not Outer Mongolia. You can visit the city easily. I'm not suggesting a daily commute.
Considering all the "talent shortage" whining, it doesn't seem like they can find many in the Bay Area either.
> Want to hire some ex-faang empoyee? Fogetaboutit.
Most startups should fogetaboutit anyway. They don't need ex-FAANG employees, will waste precious runway hiring them for little marginal gain, and will be hard-pressed to give them all meaningful work to do (leading to spending even more money in short order to replace them).
To your second point, faang employees are much more likely to pass any interview process (based on my extensive interviewing experience at my current gig) so you’re saving money on recruiting at least.