Ken Yarmosh - Latest Comments in DC Tech and Startups – Ready to Breakout

Re: DC Tech and Startups – Ready to Breakout

Ken Yarmosh — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:52:06 -0000

Exactly. My point on talent and building startups is that it's not necessarily about being a CS or Engineering grad. That also hits on the importance of balance and your statement about cutting down on the echo chamber. Of course, I do agree that there is "imported" talent as well.

Re: DC Tech and Startups – Ready to Breakout

Joseph LeBlanc — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:43:09 -0000

I agree with a lot of this and would add another DC area advantage: there's much, much more going on than the startup scene. Here, your neighbors are most likely to be lawyers, federal employees, NGO policy analysts, freelancers, or MBAs. I think this helps to cut down on the "startup echo-chamber" effect dramatically.

The one part I take issue with is talent. With the exception of University of Maryland (http://grad-schools.usnews...., most of the talent I see around here is imported. While the other colleges in the area are certainly top-notch, they simply aren't geared towards CS and Engineering. Georgetown, George Mason, and George Washington are busy turning out MBAs and lawyers.

Re: DC Tech and Startups – Ready to Breakout

Ken Yarmosh — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:15:50 -0000

Agreed. I'm thankful for Gov 2.0...not only in terms of what it can do for us as citizens...but also for the fact that it is helping to put DC on the tech map. Now, it's our responsibility to help people understand that there's more than meets the eye.

Re: DC Tech and Startups – Ready to Breakout

Bob — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:59:34 -0000

Thanks for a well written post. Austin has a bumper sticker titled "Keep Austin Weird". Perhaps the time has come for DC to come up with something similar. Austin is has seen itself rise as a startup town just like DC has. If Austin's weirdness flag attracts people to their startup community then why can't DC attract people to its startup community with a Gov 2.0 flag. After all, wasn't it the Gold Rush in California and Nevada that attracted the original startup founders to the West? Some people went to pan for gold, others went to open stores and sell to them. We've got plenty of room for everyone here.

Bob
Jobmatchbox.com