Developer Tells WSJ Readers Philly Is Great for Startups

Apu Gupta, CEO and co-founder of Curalate, wants Wall Street Journal readers to know that Philly is a great place to do startups. Yes, he says, there’s plenty of skepticism about that from out-of-towners.

He cites four reasons: The lower cost of living here, the proximity to New York, the deep bench of talent, and the local culture.

Philly has an incredibly collaborative startup community. We’re small enough as a community that we all know each other. We’re also diverse enough so that our businesses are not in direct competition. This fosters an environment in which we actively learn from each other, push each other and celebrate each other.

Philly continues to provide a great home for startups. We’re part of a growing community of companies including Monetate, RJ Metrics and Artisan Mobile that continue to win against companies from more traditional markets. Sure, it’s a small number of companies, and no one is trying to recreate the Valley. But perhaps in time, we’ll see the question evolve from “Why Philly?” to “Why not Philly?”