I know what you mean, SF is too expensive. But it's basically impossible to relocate a team of 7 who already have various different ties to a given area.

For product development, remote working is one solution. I work remote with my team all the time. Sometimes you need to see each other face to face, then meet up somewhere where it's affordable. Could make for a good team field trip even!

My feeling too, when you have an internet business, why would you waste so much money in the location...

And shoot yourself in the foot when it comes to future funding, potential hires, and acquisition talks.

Of course there are cons to living in SF, but if you're going for a series A after landing an initial investment it makes sense to base out of SF.

Does office space for 7 employees in SF really cost ~10K/month? I know in midtown Manhattan a previous startup I was at had over 5K sq ft for that price.

True. But, it seems many VCs won't consider you if you're not in the valley.

Typically, no VC will consider funding a business which has gone bankrupt and shut down...