The Soul of the New Startup Machine

I've been working with and visiting a number of startups recently and have noticed some interesting trends.

- No name on the front doors (or the name is so small you can't find it unless you are specifically looking for it). This is particularly true with the hot, high-visibility ones. I have to believe this is because they are being inundated by people who want a chance to get in early. Nonetheless, it's very different than the boom when companies proudly display 8X10 signs touting that they were the company to watch.

- No cubicles. Open offices where everyone can see everything that everyone else is doing.

- Young programmers. Teams with fairly recent grads doing much of the coding. It's much easier to get people to drink the Kool Aid and devote their entire being to a startup if they haven't had their hopes and dreams dashed and become jaded yet.

- Bargain basement websites. In the true spirit of bootstrapping they are clearly building their own websites, with junior in-house graphic designers and webmasters or engineers doing the work in addition to their other full-time responsibilities. Good for saving money. Bad for creating a brand that customers are willing to have confidence in.

- Virtual or no offices at all. Wouldn't it be interesting when you hit a company's website to be able to tell whether they actually have a real office and staff?

Just a few observations. Overall I think this is a good thing - we're getting back to the "2 guys in a garage" mentality that breeds healthy companies and compelling new products.