The Bizarre Idea of St. Louis Startup Culture

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St. Louis is an unappreciated city for many things, but as a place to build a life it's not as attractive as Seattle or Silicon Valley and Boston. A lot of the ways that the city worked to create this entrepreneurial startup culture was they funded a lot of incubators,. But if you look at all our startups, they're not even working in our space. They're all working in some kitchen of some rented apartment with a bunch of like pizza boxes.

Paul Graham, essayist, programmer and partner in the y-combinator talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about start-ups, innovation, and creativity. Graham draws on his experience as entrepreneur and investor to discuss the current state of the start-up world and how that world has changed due to improved technology that makes it easier to start a software company. Graham talks about his unusual venture firm, the y-combinator, and how he and his partners work with start-ups to get them ready for more advanced funding. Along the way, Graham discusses why hackers are like painters and how to survive high school.