How important is startup location? ‘Fake a move’ and find out: RJMetrics cofounder Robert Moore on lean startup tactics that worked

Inside RJMetrics’ Center City office. Photo from RJMetrics’ blog.

How’s this for A/B testing?

Back when Center City ecommerce analytics firm RJMetrics was just starting out in Camden, barely anyone applied to work for them, cofounder Robert Moore wrote on the company’s blog in a post about “lean startup tactics that worked.” Moore said he had a hunch it was because of the company’s location but there was no easy way to test that assumption. Until there was.

Moore wrote:

Just then, my co-founder Jake [Stein] had a great idea: let’s just say we moved. We published an identical job posting but changed our address to a location in Downtown Philadelphia. The applicants started pouring in.We simultaneously started interviewing candidates and looking for new office space. We made our move literally one day before our first new employee started work.

Since then, the RJMetrics team has emphasized its commitment to the city again and again.

Read the full blog post for more on this move and other lean startup tips and tricks.