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I just published my second email newsletter – the "Starving" startup

This one is about the "Starving Startup" and how, with all the talk of "Lean" vs. "Fat" startups, too many entrepreneurs are taking too little money. Click the link above to sign up for future posts.

These are the high level results of a survey sent to entrepreneurs living in NYC, Boston, and Palo Alto.

Public Funding

Ø  Just 13% of respondents sought public financing; 42% sought private financing

Ø  The median public raise was $2 Million, while the median private raise was $275,000.

Ø  69% of companies that applied for public funding received some

Ø  Only 30% of companies raised as much private financing as they had hoped

Office Space

Ø  42% of respondents with commercial office space in New York did not pay rent last month versus 24% and 22% of respondents from Boston and Palo Alto respectively

Ø  When factoring in this free rent, the median rent per employee, per month was $200 in New York, $350 in Palo Alto, $500 in Boston

Ø  When calculating the cost of office space only for those companies that paid for their office space, the median rent per employee, per month was $733 in New York, $475 in Palo Alto and $500 in Boston.

Geography

Ø  Just 18% of respondents moved to a location to launch their business (15%) or to move their business to a new location (3%). 

Ø  Exactly 70% of respondents were either born in the city where their business is based (17%), came for education (23%), or came for a prior job (30%).

Ø  37% of respondents from Palo Alto moved there to launch their business (32%) or to move their business to a new location (5%).

 Key Recommendations

 Ø  Student Loan Forgiveness for Entrepreneurs

Ø  Create “Immigrant Friendly” Cities

Ø  Recruit and Support Firms with “Entrepreneurial Prominence”

Ø  Raise Awareness of Public Funding Availability through Social Media

Ø  Use City-Funded Offices to Help Entrepreneurs Identify and Apply for Public Funding

Ø  Tax Incentives for Established Companies that House New Ventures

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Inspired by @msg and @heyamberrae, I’m offering a private email newsletter that will be an opportunity for me to write longer, more thoughtful posts in tech and startups (and occasionally food). Copying Michael, it costs $4/month and I’ll give you your money back if you’re not finding it worth at least as much as a grande peppermint mocha from Starbucks.Thanks, everyone.

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