Welcome to StartupHPC
How did we get here?
A few months ago, there was a news article going around that talked bout how hard it was for a fresh PhD in scientific fields to find a job. “What?” was my impulsive reaction, probably shared by many others. How can it be that someone who represents the highest level of education and training in the history of humanity has to wonder if they will have a livelihood?
That article led to an active discussion on various social media. Our conclusion was this: many of you in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field should be creating jobs, not looking for them. And you should be doing that whether or not you are getting multiple job offers. Even more so if you are getting multiple offers!
We need to add Entrepreneurship to STEM. And so, E+STEM is what this site is all about.
But why HPC?
HPC and supercomputing technologies occupy a very inspiring spot in STEM. If you are in HPC, you are by definition working on very leading edge stuff. You are exposed to new ideas daily. In all likelihood, you come up with new ideas, great ideas, all the time. We all know about the garage that spawned Silicon Valley and we all know about the garage mentality that takes the 20% that is the inspiration, the idea, and adds the remaining 80% that is the perspiration and the hard work to create something that changes the world for the better and creates something valuable.
We want to accelerate that process. We want to identify and share the best experiences and the know-how that helps you to go create it. From recognizing that an idea has merit in the marketplace to the mechanics of forming a company and allocating stock, to building a team, deciding where to locate, building a product, launching a company, finding customers…
If you have that kind of spark in you, join us, lend your support, and spread the word.
p.s. Yes, that is a photo of the original HP garage in Palo Alto, CA, a historical site and an icon of entrepreneurship. And you can walk by it like in the old days.
This blog was published on September 4th, 2014.