There has been a lot of talk from investors and young entrepreneurs alike in the Hub about the desire for more collaboration and resources shared between Boston and NYC. While this type of collaboration cannot necessarily be forced, TruQA, based in NYC but also with talent tied here in Boston, is one web startup showing that it is absolutely possible. And as you’ll read, seeds planted in both neighboring cities has most certainly benefited their development to date.

TruQA (pronounced true-kah) was founded in April 2010 on the principle that is should be easier to find reliable and trusted opinions online. To address this, the team has built a Q&A product that leverages your network on Facebook, including friends of friends, to ask questions and garner opinions and answers. Unlike Quora, TruQA is private and questions and answers can be asked and answered confidentially.

The product launched in open beta October 1, and popular question topics to date have had to do with job searches, restaurant recommendations, travel, and service providers. The team plans to monetize TruQA through gifting. Cofounder Jeremy Galen explained, “If you’re satisfied with the answers you receive from ‘friends of friends’ on TruQA you can send gifts to the people who’ve helped you.”  They currently offer virtual gifts and, as of just last week, real gift cards for sale.

The team’s CEO (Jeremy Galen), developer (Chris Baranowski), and designer (Joe Ranft) all met at the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC). The three were working to build UpDown, the virtual stock market based out of the CIC, and have met in the Kendall Square and Boston areas regularly since moving on to build TruQA together. BostInno had the opportunity to speak with Galen to get the full story on differences between our two innovation hubs in the Northeast and what it is actually like to have a team in both cities.

After a downsizing at UpDown and moving on to do consulting in Europe, Galen cofounded TruQA from Paris. He moved to NYC for personal reasons, but has since been pleasantly surprised by the excitement around the startup ecosystem there. “I was definitely surprised to learn just how much internet entrepreneurial activity is taking place in New York right now,” he shared.

According to Galen, who is a Harvard grad, both cities boast excellent early stage resources and events. He believes the most notable difference between NYC and the vibrant scene here in Boston is our ecosystem’s close ties to the great universities here. “It doesn’t feel as though NYC’s entrepreneurial culture is as tethered to university life in the same way,” he said.

So what is it really like to straddle two cities? Galen worked in close quarters with the team at UpDown, so he has lived both experiences. On traveling between the two he says it is definitely quite easy. And from an early-stage startup perspective, he offered having seeds planted in both cities means they can easily make either city their HQs should financing or hiring require it. And aside from physical location, its the resources and learnings the team has drawn from both ecosystems that has really benefitted TruQA’s development:

“There’s something cool about drawing on the vibes of two different startup scenes. When we talk product and execution strategy, I always refer to what NYC startups are doing and Joe, for instance, often points to examples from Boston. The ensuing discussions are lively–and the contrast is clarifying.”

As for challenges, he said at times communication can be difficult, but regular voice and video communication alleviates most mishaps and makes it actually quite possible. “A structured, scheduled workflow enables everyone to be on the same page and to understand what’s expected of them,” he advised.

TruQA is in public beta and the team is heavily focused on usability, actively seeking product feedback and watching how early adopters are using the site in order to iterate and help mold the experience and interface. The team is bootstrapped and currently seeking to close an Angel round in the upcoming weeks. Here’s a video of Galen explaining what TruQA is all about:

What other questions do you have for the TruQA team on Boston – NYC collaboration and our ecosystems? Leave them in the comments!