Why we moved our startup from San Francisco to Berkeley

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2013/09/16/why-we-moved-our-startup-from-san-francisco-to-berkeley-and-why-more-will-follow/

by mllerustad • 13 years ago

47 24 13 years ago

berkeleyside.com

milesf• 13 years ago

It's less than a 1/2 hour drive between the two destinations. Not exactly an epic Oregon trail journey :)

http://bit.ly/1eYm99v

gradstudent• 13 years ago

Oh, come on! They had to cross Oakland! Shit was hard yo :p

Reedx• 13 years ago

Well, after 9PM that drive is < 30 mins. But the Bay Bridge is bumper to bumper much of the day and every exit/entrance around it gets backed up. It's bad.

klipt4• 13 years ago

Hence BART.

calbear812• 13 years ago

I'm really hoping for more of this all around the Bay especially to places with lower costs of living while still being very accessible to The City.

Our office is based in Mountain View but lately a lot of coworkers have been going to Santa Cruz on weekends to play beach volleyball, surf, and kick back. Looking at Craigslist, I'm seeing a ton of office space centrally located in downtown Santa Cruz for around $1-$2 a square foot which is about 50-70% less than space in SF/Palo Alto and wondering why there hasn't been more of a migration there.

Apocryphon• 13 years ago

HWY 17 is really brutal for commuting.

calbear812• 13 years ago

Yeah, I guess it might be possible if you're a small company and everyone is willing to live close by but if you need to attract talent, that commute would be an obstacle.

ngoldbaum• 13 years ago

Don't come here, rents are expensive enough as it is.

piratebroadcast• 13 years ago

bitgym (the authors startup) seems to be a solution in search of a problem. I cant speak for everyone, but when I go to the gym, I am happy to be away from computers and mobile screens- I just want to be real for a while.

jamesaguilar• 13 years ago

That's right, you can't speak for everyone. Also, this is a post about Berkeley mostly, and only tangentially (to be generous) about their startup.

kerenyaniv• 13 years ago

Actually at the gym I love having distractions from just thinking about the workout - so I often use multiple screens.

klipt4• 13 years ago

...and now Berkeley rents will start rising to match San Francisco rents.

Plus if you want to live in the Downtown area, you'll be competing with students who want to be right next to campus. Since the spending power of a software engineer far outweighs that of a student, the students are going to get royally screwed on this.

selectstar• 13 years ago

Some students.

Those provided for by family will see their parents/grandparents get screwed, and some of those parents may well be part of the software community...

klipt4• 13 years ago

True, I was thinking from the perspective of a grad student. I got a nasty shock when my "original tenant" housemate moved out and my rent jumped up 20%. (Berkeley rent control only applies while at least one original tenant remains, but I had no idea I was benefiting so much from rent control up to then.)

20% may not sound like a lot, but I'm pretty sure grad student stipends haven't gone up more than a few % over the same time. I wonder how much rent around a university can rise before the situation becomes unsustainable (the university either needs to provide subsidized housing, or it'll lose prestige as good students switch to universities that aren't surrounded by housing bubbles.)

rms2• 13 years ago

...and now Berkeley rents will start rising to match San Francisco rents.

Downtown Berkeley is already pretty close to San Francisco rents. I recommend getting out of the zone where you are competing with Cal students. Near Ashby BART to be closer to nightlife and Oakland/San Francisco, or near North Berkeley BART for a safer, quieter existence.

verisimilidude• 13 years ago

The social scene in Downtown Berkeley is strong for nerds. I was a big fan of the twice-a-week board game meets, where I met some brilliant people. The science fiction writing circle was also a favorite. Point being, there are a lot of surprising opportunities to spread out and network in Berkeley.

(I'm sure the same is true in SF, of course.)

jessedhillon• 13 years ago

Can you tell me more about this scifi writing circle?

rms2• 13 years ago

I've lived in Berkeley for three years and love the lifestyle and the weather. I pine for the city sometimes but recognize that I don't want to lose what I have here. And this place just opened around the corner. http://www.yelp.com/biz/rangoon-super-stars-berkeley

Berkeley has not coalesced as a software startup hub because city zoning policies discriminate against software companies. Large swaths of real estate are reserved for food production companies and some biotech space. Definitely start your food companies here, and there are small built out lab spaces available here if you're doing biochemistry.

Eventually zoning policy will change and then Berkeley can more firmly integrate itself into the greater Silicon Valley.

davmar• 13 years ago

this can be summed up easily. "we moved our startup to berkeley for viks." at least, that's the reason i'd do it.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/viks-chaat-berkeley

nightmann• 13 years ago

In addition to Berkeley, nearby Emeryville is a very nice place to live. It's close to a lot of public transit (freeways, MacArthur BART, bus lines on San Pablo) and 15 minutes across the bay bridge to SF and 5 minutes from Berkeley. Large companies (like Pixar and Bayer) and a few startups (like TubeMogul) are here already. A medium/big startup considering the peninsula could make a big splash and see high ROI choosing Emeryville.

Why we moved our startup from San Francisco to Berkeley

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