Berlin's new 107,000 ft² startup factory

Berlin is in Europe, so quoting the area as 10,000 m^2 (as in the original article) would have been nice. Are most HN readers really from the US?

Can anyone name a successful startup not also located within the valley, NYC, or Boston that started from one of these coworking or incubator spaces?<p>Not being snarky, but it may come across that way. Just genuinely curious.

Is it possible to do a startup there for someone not knowing German?

I tend to be skeptical of these efforts at engineering startup hubs out of thin air by building great new facilities. Many other complex, inter-related factors are necessary to have a successful startup hub.<p>As pg himself put it: "Building office buildings for technology companies won't get you a silicon valley, because the key stage in the life of a startup happens before they want that kind of space. The key stage is when they're three guys operating out of an apartment."[1] (He's covered this topic more than once -- e.g., see [2] below.)<p>--<p>[1] <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulgraham.com/siliconvalley.html</a><p>[2] <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/hubs.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulgraham.com/hubs.html</a>

Its too easy to substitute working on the tools and resources for working on the actual goal. I separate new managers that way: some focus on the job at hand, many focus on the setup of their office, the desk, chair, parking space, etc.<p>A building is the easy part to creating a startup incubator; its a tool/resource for the job. Money is just another resource, and the investor a vendor, unless they're like YCombinator. Groups like this bring much more to the table than money; their focus isn't on the building, either.<p>Build the project; you'll find the tools along the way.

I really like the idea of spaces like this. I would like to see one be successful in research triangle park, NC.

If there's one thing that's always been proven true it's that startups are made the same way objects are manufactured.<p>More seriously I do wish them success, the tech scene in Berlin seemed vibrant when I was there for a conference and it's a beautiful city.

Nice idea, and I'm sure it'll be a nice building, and good fun to work in, but the magic ingredient in a "startup factory" is most definitely not office space.

My co-founder mentioned there is some sort of german "self employment" visa, that will allow you to get residency in Germany without having to work for a local company. I don't know any more details bout that, but would love to hear from someone who has actually gone thru the process, if anyone on HN has.<p>Berlin is becoming a bit of a startup hub for europe, and with the economic issues this may increase if the other states start hurting small companies as they try to shore up their budgets.<p>This is the kind of things I'd never use, probably, except for meetups and stuff like that. But, unlike others, I think it is good that it is being built. Yes, the magic happens when you're working from your apartment or basement- and in fact, that's my preferred place to work (all founders under one roof, zero commute times, etc.)<p>But why is it, whenever someone says "This useful thing for startups is happening in some city" the responses are "You're not creating silicon valley!!!" Nobody said they were replicating silicon valley. Why are the defenders of silicon valley so defensive that every time something involving startups happens out side of california, they have to pile in and say that silicon valley can't be replicated? Hey, personally, that's great. I lived in the bay area. It isn't a good place to do a startup on all the criteria that matter to me (burn rate, employee availability, etc.) But it is certainly great for people whom, for the first time in their lives, they have lots of smart people to hang around with. If that's you, I can see why you'd love it. It is also great if you're doing the "google acquisition target startup" and need VC money, or a number of other possibilities.<p>But silicon valley does not have a patent on the idea of doing a startup, and in this globalized world, the barriers for doing startups have dropped all over the world, and thus it is GOOD that Berlin and other cities are becoming good places to do startups.<p>Especially since many companies simply can't relocate to Silicon valley. For instance, one of my co founders is not a US citizen. Silicon Valley is not an option for us.