6 reasons why you should start your company in New York instead of Silicon Valley

New York

When it comes to building a company, choosing the appropriate location to launch is an important decision, but also a daunting one. While entrepreneurs have traditionally swarmed to Silicon Valley to kick off their companies, more and more founders are thinking beyond California's borders .

Among their top choices is New York, where the city is leading the way when in terms of both venture capital spending and female entrepreneurship.

If you're considering launching a company, here are the top 6 reasons why you should consider launching in the Big Apple:

1. You'll have access to top talent.

In a recent interview with The Verge's Casey Newton, Zola co-founder and CEO Shan-Lyn Ma said that she chose to build her company in New York because of its talented workforce.

"New York is now at a point where we’ve had multiple rounds of successful startups exit," said Ma. "We’ve built up a critical mass of tech startup talent across engineering, product design, et cetera," she said.

There's a compelling financial incentive in building a company in New York as well: It's often cheaper to employ tech talent in the Big Apple. Employers in Silicon Valley typically pay more for the average engineering position than in New York. Glassdoor estimates that entry-level software engineering jobs in Silicon Valley typically command around $10,000 more than their New York City counterparts.

2. If you're building a company that has anything to do with finance or fashion, starting up in New York just makes sense.

New York isn't considered the world capital of finance and fashion for nothing.

In the past few years, several finance and fashion-focused companies have taken root in the city. Among them are health insurance company Oscar Health, Shan-Lyn Ma's own wedding-centered startup Zola, and popular low-cost online glasses store Warby Parker.

According to Ma: "If you’re in fashion, if you’re in the financial services, or you need access to financial services partners, or any industry that happens to thrive in New York, then you want to be here, because it’s a 10-minute ride to anyone you would ever want to meet, and you could set up a meeting that morning and meet them that afternoon."

3. There's lots of venture capital.

While Silicon Valley might be renowned for blue-chip firms like Andreessen-Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Sequoia Capital, there's a number of New York-based firms that are equally important.

Firms like Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, and Greycroft are all known for their smart investments and high-profile portfolio companies.

Additionally, New York is quickly becoming a top contender when it comes to investing in new companies: Last year, the city beat out the San Francisco Bay Area for the amount of venture capital deployed by around $50 million.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider