Stylitics: fashion analytics startup chose NYC over Philly for ‘time management’

Last year, Wharton Business Plan Competition winner Rohan Deuskar took his fashion analytics startup Stylitics from Philly to New York City.  It was rough-going, writes Anne Kadet, the Wall Street Journal’s MetroMoney columnist. His rent nearly tripled, he paid “$20,000 per hire in recruiter commissions” and he’d wear the same French Connection blazer to every meeting. Kadet wonders: Taking a startup to New York? Is Deuskar crazy? Here’s his explanation, in Kadet’s words:

The genial Mr. Deuskar patiently explained his reasons for the move: It’s about networking and time management. Sure, he could connect with New York’s fashion industry execs and investors via bus rides from the Sixth Borough, but that’s a three-hour trip! Mr. Deuskar, who is working 90 hours a week, can’t waste time. “There’s a sense of urgency,” he says. The world won’t wait forever to learn how young women are accessorizing their pencil skirts, so Mr. Deuskar needs to be in the office with his development team as much as possible. He can’t even abide the commute from Brooklyn—hence his recent move to a $2,300-a-month loft studio on 22nd Street that commands nearly half his $65,000 salary. [more]