There has been a recent shift in this Web 2.0 world that has seen a move from garage startups to cafe startups. Could it be the price of renting office, or garage space vs. hanging out in cafes? Recent reports have garages renting out at $100/month in the valley.
Compare that to three lattes, two coffee’s, a few biscuits a day at Starbucks and obviously price cant be the main determining factor can it? So what has stemmed this move? The biggest factor might be associating with like minded individuals, and the opportunities that lye within.
Cafe’s are a great place to not only work comfortably, and a little cheaper, but a place to strike up conversations with individuals that could quite potentially have complementing products or services, or lead you in the right directions to improve, or sell your offerings.
What are your views on this new shift. Do you see this as a good move by entrepreneur’s to hang out in coffee shops building their businesses? Maybe you use a local cafe as your office to make deals and do business? How is it working out for you?
Actually my business partner and I do most of our best business meetings in cafe’s… in fact we are currently going through some initial ideas with a local entrepreneur who was one of the main founders of Tibco… and yes, we always meet at the local cafe… it just seems to be where ideas come to life!
I’m starting a new project and have been meeting with my partner at starbucks for the last few weeks. Starbucks is centrally located, what starbucks isn’t? It is a comfortable environment, a lot more comfortable then a garage. Garages don’t come heated and some Valley days can get pretty frigid.
Starbuck’s, with it’s free flowing caffine enhanced goodness, is an excellent place to metacogitate upon the next “big” thing. Often, whilst enjoying the rich and flavorful beverages, I find myself ready to bring nose to grindstone more readily than if I was ensconced in the cube farm. The music is plesant enough, and it appears that almost everyone is quietly hunched over their laptops. Given the rather bucholic South Florida climate this time of year, sitting outdoors is also not a chore.
Such environs do facilitate the free flowing discourse needed to move ideas from the drawing board to reality.
Oh…and it’s really cool too!
[...] Web Worker Daily points us to a growing trend for startups. [...]
Good observation, caffeine and jazz are good accompaniments to free wireless and heating. Cafes are great in the forming stage but surely not at the norming and performing stages.
My best work, writing, designing etc gets done in cafes. Meetings are convenient centrally located, free wireless, good coffee, heating/AC…
What more do you want?
Do garages inspire brilliance?
The web worker trifecta of (free) wireless, plenty of coffee, and comfortable surroundings can’t be beat! For me there’s also the potential for human contact outside of myself and/or business/creative partners, even if it’s just the “Man Nod“.
I’d get a big fat ass if I sat in a cafe all day.
[...] A recent article by Chris Gilmer tosses out the thought that we’re seeing a movement from garage based startups (HP, Apple, Google) to cafe based (hmmm… can’t think of any large ones at the moment). He states on the Web Worker Daily: [...]
i am not have dinner in a cafe
i have dinner in home