> you'd have to offer something significant to convince people to move there and pay their (and families') relocation.
That's why I'm saying that a push by YC combined with Google Fiber could be that initiative. Like I said, there is already interest in the startup community in KC because of Google Fiber. For example, someone started a "startup house" in the first fiberhood to get hooked up, and is now renting it out to startup founders. He's got a lot of reservations already.
As for moving their families, I don't think that's a big concern. There are a ton of young, single potential founders who would have no problem moving halfway across the country.
> Bay Area inbreeding partially works because (a) young companies don't have to spend as much on relocation
These costs can be much lower in the Midwest. Finding an apartment is not the multi-month ordeal it can be in SF, for example.
> (b) availability of public transportation makes living and working in different cities plausible.
There's no need for public transportation in KC. Gas is cheap, taxes are low, and parking space is plentiful. Just get a car. In fact, I'd prefer not to take public transportation if the train stations need to be cleaned by Hazmat crews[0], as they do in SF, with BART.
Relocation costs to the Midwest would be lower per relocated employee, but the lowest relocation cost would be 0 because the employee already lives there. This is the benefit of the Bay Area.
Traditionally the tech industry has been centered on suburban Silicon Valley, not San Francisco proper. But more and more educated young people want to live in real cities with culture, diversity, mass transportation, and walkability, which is they they live in San Francisco. There are other places with some or all of those benefits--New York, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, London, Berlin, Vancouver, BC--but Kansas City has close to none of them.
In addition, the San Francisco Bay Area has the Sand Hill Road VC's, tons of angels, a large talent pool, two world-class CS departments at Berkeley and Stanford pumping more talent in every summer, and lots of other technology companies in town to collaborate with. It even has lots of suburbs if you really want that. Kansas City has Google Fiber. Not even Y Combinator would tip that balance.
That's why I'm saying that a push by YC combined with Google Fiber could be that initiative. Like I said, there is already interest in the startup community in KC because of Google Fiber. For example, someone started a "startup house" in the first fiberhood to get hooked up, and is now renting it out to startup founders. He's got a lot of reservations already.
As for moving their families, I don't think that's a big concern. There are a ton of young, single potential founders who would have no problem moving halfway across the country.
> Bay Area inbreeding partially works because (a) young companies don't have to spend as much on relocation
These costs can be much lower in the Midwest. Finding an apartment is not the multi-month ordeal it can be in SF, for example.
> (b) availability of public transportation makes living and working in different cities plausible.
There's no need for public transportation in KC. Gas is cheap, taxes are low, and parking space is plentiful. Just get a car. In fact, I'd prefer not to take public transportation if the train stations need to be cleaned by Hazmat crews[0], as they do in SF, with BART.
0: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Human-waste-shuts-down...