MainStreet
$10,000 to leave the Bay Area
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Doug Ludlow

MainStreet - $10,000 to leave the Bay Area

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MainStreet
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We’re launching MainStreet with a campaign that pays people $10,000 to leave the Bay Area.
This campaign will draw attention to our company’s mission and vision and help people realize that you don’t have to live in the Bay Area to have an amazing career.

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Ryan Hoover
I'm very interested in experiments like this, and generally anything that can help provide financial mobility/economic opportunity for others. @doug_ludlow how's the response been so far?
Doug Ludlow
Maker
@rrhoover Ryan - the response has been pretty extraordinary - we've had thousands of applicants so far, and a large proportion of those people have been high-skilled professionals, like engineers, PMs, attorneys, etc. I think we've tapped into something deep here - we've found that while the $10,000 is what initially catches people's attention, the overwhelming majority of applicants say that they are looking to move in order to buy a house, get better schools for their kids, etc. - basically, they want to improve their lives, and they sadly don't see that happening in the Bay Area.
Max Guttman
I’d love to see this expand to giving money to people who are actually from SF who have been displaced by the immense gentrification
Lola Hayes
How does this work on the other side? I'm currently buying property in Maine because I can't handle the tiny apartments and concrete of NYC anymore. Over time, I have a (very ambitious) plan the make the area into a little bit of a hub because I know I will miss the community I have in NYC. I'm curious how you're working with places to make this happen.
Nathan Sykes
@lolatesla Hi! I'm up in Bangor, ME and we have a bit of an entrepreneurial community you might want to tap into if you're around the area. Let me know if you want more details :)
Nick Simard
Ryan Hoover
@nicksimard great PR if nothing else :) cc @wadefoster
Doug Ludlow
Maker
Hello Product Hunt - my name is Doug Ludlow, CEO of MainStreet. We started building our product by asking ourselves "How do you create jobs and opportunity in suburban and rural America?” MainStreet’s mission is as simple as it is audacious: to create jobs in suburban and rural communities. Our goal as a product and as a company is to link the talent that lives in these communities, with the jobs that are based in expensive urban areas like SF and NY. We’re launching this week with a campaign that will pay people $10,000 to leave the Bay Area. We believe that this campaign will draw attention to our company’s bold mission and vision and help people realize that you don’t have to live in the Bay Area (or another expensive urban area) to have an amazing career.
HappyGiantAR
I did this 20 years ago and live in rural western Mass. Can I have $10K pls? (:
Stephen Russell
Awesome do this nationwide
Jen LC
I think it's a great idea. There are many excellent places to live that aren't big cities, where you can actually have a real life and not just be working to support your sky-high living expenses. It would also help smaller communities as far as bringing wages up, and attract more opportunities and businesses to these areas so they can flourish. This whole thing of having all the higher paying jobs concentrated in large cities is unsustainable - just witness the outrageous rents in these areas for tiny apartments with little quality of life, and the craziness of people sitting in traffic or on public transit for hours out of their day that they'll never get back. It's nuts. Smaller communities are hungry to move for forward and have more options; they would embrace this. Something's got to change, and I think this is a great way to start.
Shawn Kalin
Are small towns within two hours of the major hubs developing satellite offices? Gilroy, Santa Cruz etc etc?
Tom Langridge
This is a really interesting experiment. I imagine that you're appealing much more to more established professionals who have already developed a strong resume and industry experience - people at a phase of their life where they may value stability over rapid growth. Or are you finding that this appeals to entry-level professionals as well?
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