The concept of a Startup corridor is terrific, though I agree that this type of thing is usually an organic process. Access to talent (near top universities), and capital resources (both VCs and Angels) are the most important factors in a startup hub. Other things to consider when picking a place to start a company is inexpensive office space, a favorable tax environment, and proximity to city-to-city travel (in Houston’s case, our airports and driving distance to other Texas cities). So the 3M area (Midtown, Museum, Montrose) makes sense, since capital is clustered near the Galleria and Greenway and that’s close to U of H Downtown, Rice and St. Thomas.

The streets there are beautiful, and the location is near-perfect in many respects, with close proximity to the universities, medical center and downtown. The Galleria and JSC are also not that far away (considering you’d be driving against the traffic to Clear Lake).

That said, there were serious negatives to consider. I haven’t spent much time in that area in many years, so maybe (hopefully) things have improved some, but crime was a serious problem. I was told back then that the accounting firm that had been there before had to lock up all their equipment every night

Also, my wife and I were just starting a family, and it wasn’t really a good location for that. Not long after, we moved to Sugar Land and have been here ever since.

Nevertheless, I do wish it could have worked. The location, geographically, is near perfect. It’s true, though, that Houston isn’t a pedestrian-oriented city, and so parking, etc. is important (the universities are all bad about that, too).

For those that don’t know, Ben has a truly awesome site about Texas technology events that y’all should follow. I do daily.