Harbor.ly is a successful team of experienced entrepreneurs, financial professionals and legal advisors committed to a global vision of digital currency. We asked them a few questions Teleport style - here's what we found out.
1) Has your company relocated in the past before?
Harbor.ly is a fairly new startup and this is our first relocation.
2) Which regions have been your favorite so far? What are some factors that have helped maintain a good company culture?
Our company was founded in South Florida, which has great weather and a vibrant community of young professionals. Both these factors have certainly helped nurture our informal company culture. We are very flexible on where our team members physically work and what hours team members keep so long as they get their work done.
3) Has your company ever opened up an office in Silicon Valley?
No, but we remain open to the possibility over the course of the next 12 - 18 months. Silicon Valley is certainly a possibility due to a strong network of entrepreneurs, investors and other participants that are active in the cryptocurrency space.
4) What were the primary reasons behind each relocation?
Our team gave considerable thought to where it might be best to base operations and decided upon Texas for a myriad of reasons including:
- favorable regulatory and tax regimes
- proximity to Austin, a hub for technology startups
- a highly educated and tech-savvy labor force
- Texas is particularly friendly towards cryptocurrency startups (for this reason, we are launching our Beta there)
5) What were some immediate benefits realized by the move? What were some drawbacks?
On the positive side, the cryptocurrency community has reacted very positively towards our move to Texas. However, on the negative side, any move takes time and detracts from the company’s business.
6) Were some employees hesitant to make the move? Do you currently have employees working in different locations?
The employees understood the benefits of establishing a base in Texas and were quickly on board with the move. Currently, some team members are still working remotely from Florida and we expect that they will make the move in Q2 of this year. The two teams stay in touch on a daily basis and the distance has not been an issue.
7) What services, if any, did you use to assist your company in making the move?
At this stage, we are dedicating the bulk of our funds towards product development and handled the move on our own without the aid of any third parties. We wish we knew of Teleport earlier as it would have certainly helped!
8) Do you plan on moving in the future as your company grows? Do you use any applications/websites to assist you in your search?
As mentioned above, we might establish a branch in California in the not too distant future. Further, as we grow internationally, it is likely that we will need to establish operations abroad. Our team already includes advisors in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. We expect to work with them closely in selecting optimal locations when the time comes. Given our line of business, we will obviously gravitate toward the tech and financial capitals of the world that have adopted a friendly stance toward cryptocurrencies (e.g. London). However, regulations and attitudes toward cryptocurrencies are evolving fast so it could be a challenge to determine which locations make sense over the long term.
9) Do you feel like Teleport has the potential to be useful to your company?
Teleport certainly has the potential to be useful to our team. Even during the course of our domestic move, we faced various challenges that could be exacerbated as we look beyond the U.S. to establish an international presence. Teleport and its services can certainly mitigate some of the problems we might face going forward. Given Austin’s prominence in the tech community, we think it would be very useful if Teleport’s services could be expanded to that area.
Profile of Austin, Texas:
