[timrpeterson]

Do you have to move to the Bay Area?

I'm a professor at WashU and am interested, but I live in St. Louis.

[snowmaker]

You don't. You have to travel here to participate in events that take place in the bay area, but you don't have to move here. Founders with labs set up elsewhere have sometimes participated by traveling back and forth.

[asimpletune]

Just move! It’s great here!

[timrpeterson]

I have ample lab space and the team to execute here in St. Louis. Also, I have a family.

YC's "move to the bay area" requirement makes sense for software startups, but less so for bio (at least for most of the good ideas).

[jonlucc]

As a fellow midwesterner, I agree. It might make sense if the requirement was to move to a bio-rich region (such as San Diego or Boston), but the bay doesn't seem like the place to be for a lab.

[vqc]

The Bay Area is extremely bio rich. It is on par with Boston and SD w/r/t bio jobs, lab space, NIH funding, VC funding, etc.

[jonlucc]

That's great to hear; thanks!

[timrpeterson]

Most people who will be qualified will already have lab space wherever they are.

[giarc]

I agree, and if they were required to move, it would take more than the 3 month batch to prepare items for movement. Why not just leave in their location?