Making people and ideas findable
The Best City for Entrepreneurs
In Austin, John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, did an interview with a journalist writing a story about entrepreneurial cities.
John commented on his blog: "You’ve probably seen these kinds of articles before, but to me this is such a tough question. What’s the best place to be an entrepreneur? Most of these types of polls take a look at tangible things like access to capital, learning resources, mentoring facilities, focused government programs and the presence of universities and incubators.
While I think these tangible assets are indeed important, there’s another very large factor that I’ve found as I travel around the globe speaking to groups of entrepreneurs. It’s something I can only classify as a vibe. What I have found in some cities is the entrepreneurs there simply love running a business, are passionate about learning how to do it better, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. For these folks this is not a job and they are willing to come together and support each other in that mission.
I’m not sure how to bottle that and tell you why it exists, it’s like telling you that in some cities entrepreneurs just seem happier, but that’s my experience.
Recently I’ve found this to be the case in Boston, Austin, San Diego, Phoenix, and Portland.
So my two question to you today are:
1) What cities are great for entrepreneurs?
2) What makes a city great for entrepreneurs?"
I present this not only for Indianapolis, but lets hear from other Indiana cities!
Tags: business, entrepreneurs, small, startups
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Nwokedi C. Idika on -
I haven't been to every city in Indiana, so I'll just generalize the entire state.
In my humble opinion, the 2 posed questions are a bit broad to answer definitively. For example, Indiana isn't the ideal place to do a Web-based startup. However, if, for example, you're into manufacturing or farming or the life sciences, then Indiana can be pretty decent for you as an entrepreneur. So to question 1), the answer is it depends on what area/industry you're starting your venture in.
What makes a city great for entrepreneurs is its people. This is probably the most important factor although the opportunity being pursued in a city also has a strong influence on attractiveness of a city to an entrepreneur. Getting back to the people, one of the reasons great cities for entrepreneurs are so great for them is because they have a lot of people who have "been there and done that" and are willing to share their knowledge. Sharing knowledge and being of service makes these veteran entrepreneurs happy. And obviously if a newbie entrepreneur is well received and getting she'll be pretty happy herself, chances are.
In Indiana there's a lack of open mindedness and a lack of "reaching back" to help "up and coming" entrepreneurs. If you're the wrong type of entrepreneur in Indiana, being in Indiana can be a very discouraging experience. Ergo, people leave the state. This leaving leads to less interesting ideas being brought to life in Indiana...and we all know smart people want to work on "interesting" things, so recent graduates, potential key hires, leave Indiana--and the Indiana brain drain continues.
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Permalink Reply by Joe Dager on -
I have to agree with you Chris. Being somewhere in the middle, due to the factors cited probably is correct. Our goal should maybe not be number 2 but breaking 20! It is sort of like Notre Dame football. If I am a 18 college recruit, do I want to go to Florida, So. Cal. or South Bend
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Permalink Reply by Brian Morgan - Video Production on
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