"When I lived there, it was very very hard to find technical people that were not "corporate drones". I knew maybe of only one or two startup (I am not sure they ended up anywhere)."
The startups are there, you just have to know where to look (i.e. have friends that also work for startups). They are very "enterprisey"; Boston doesn't do consumer startups the way the West Coast does.
The culture is also very different here: on the East Coast, there's this notion of paying your dues before you're ready to start your own thing. You're expected to suffer (probably a legacy of Boston's Puritan heritage) before you're ready to strike it big. A typical Bostonian startup's path involves working for 10-30 years at one of the area businesses in your field, then gathering up some professional colleagues and striking out on your own, often building some tool that your former employer wants to buy.
My former boss was dead-set against me striking out on my own - he doesn't believe I've "paid my dues" and have enough industry experience to make it. The idea of striking out into an unproven market, discovering it as you go along, and building your product on the way is complete anathema to the Boston startup scene. Here, you're often expected to have a customer in hand (usually your former employer) when you approach venture capitalists, along with a team averaging 20-30 years industry experience or serious research background.
Almost all the startup founders I know here fit that pattern. Avici's founders had all worked for BBN for about 30 years. Avid's technical founder had worked for DEC for several years. I think much of Stratus's initial team came from DEC. Cybersmith's team came from Stratus and DEC. One former employer spun off of Cybersmith. Another's founder had been a trader on Wall Street (this was a financial software). One of the other places I interviewed was a spinoff of Eze Castle, where the product had originally been developed.
I'd recommend Boston for any older founders in the audience. Move to Boston, spend 5-10 years working at area companies while you build up professional contacts, and then strike out on your own. Boston doesn't have the prejudice against older entrepreneurs that you'll find in SV, because for most of the industries here, age is an asset and not a liability. Plus, it's a good place to raise a kid: the Boston suburbs (particularly to the west and northwest) are very safe, have good schools, strong senses of community, and lots of leafy wooded areas.
Nearly all the young startup-type folk I know - the ones without families, at least - are moving out to California though. Their youth is an asset and not a liability there, and they get to work on generally cooler problems.
The startups are there, you just have to know where to look (i.e. have friends that also work for startups). They are very "enterprisey"; Boston doesn't do consumer startups the way the West Coast does.
The culture is also very different here: on the East Coast, there's this notion of paying your dues before you're ready to start your own thing. You're expected to suffer (probably a legacy of Boston's Puritan heritage) before you're ready to strike it big. A typical Bostonian startup's path involves working for 10-30 years at one of the area businesses in your field, then gathering up some professional colleagues and striking out on your own, often building some tool that your former employer wants to buy.
My former boss was dead-set against me striking out on my own - he doesn't believe I've "paid my dues" and have enough industry experience to make it. The idea of striking out into an unproven market, discovering it as you go along, and building your product on the way is complete anathema to the Boston startup scene. Here, you're often expected to have a customer in hand (usually your former employer) when you approach venture capitalists, along with a team averaging 20-30 years industry experience or serious research background.
Almost all the startup founders I know here fit that pattern. Avici's founders had all worked for BBN for about 30 years. Avid's technical founder had worked for DEC for several years. I think much of Stratus's initial team came from DEC. Cybersmith's team came from Stratus and DEC. One former employer spun off of Cybersmith. Another's founder had been a trader on Wall Street (this was a financial software). One of the other places I interviewed was a spinoff of Eze Castle, where the product had originally been developed.
I'd recommend Boston for any older founders in the audience. Move to Boston, spend 5-10 years working at area companies while you build up professional contacts, and then strike out on your own. Boston doesn't have the prejudice against older entrepreneurs that you'll find in SV, because for most of the industries here, age is an asset and not a liability. Plus, it's a good place to raise a kid: the Boston suburbs (particularly to the west and northwest) are very safe, have good schools, strong senses of community, and lots of leafy wooded areas.
Nearly all the young startup-type folk I know - the ones without families, at least - are moving out to California though. Their youth is an asset and not a liability there, and they get to work on generally cooler problems.