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5 Reasons The Midwest Is Primed For Startup Success
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There must have been something in the air yesterday because as I looked around at the buzzing crowd, networking and dreaming outloud, I saw that everyone, both old and young, looked so ready, so eager. For what, I can’t say definitively but I can guess that just like me Chicago Ideas Week had made them excited and almost frantically anxious to learn, build and create.
Neither myself nor the crowd had to wait long for another dose of entrepreneurial adrenaline. For almost two hours the Kauffman Foundation Midwest Entrepreneur Summit and its panelist served up inspiration and Midwestern pride.
If anyone in the room had questioned whether the Midwest could grow and sustain thriving startup communities, they left with a definitive answer – yes.
5 Reasons The Midwest Is Primed For Startup Success
Talent
Did you know the Midwest boasts 8 out of the top 25 entrepreneurial colleges and 6 of the top 20 engineering schools? While the Midwest isn’t often referred to as the educational breeding ground of entrepreneurial talent, Rockfish‘s Chief Marketing Officer Dave Knox and Founder of The Brandery pointed out that the heartland has everything and everyone it needs to be a innovative powerhouse. As the startup community continues to grow and thrive, more and more of our talented youth are staying to build the Heartland’s idea economy.
Work Ethic
President of Zyvex Technologies Lance Criscuolo spoke about moving his Texan nano-tech startup to Columbus, Ohio and what he thought about bringing on local buckeye talent. “The midwestern work ethic is like porn. I don’t know how to define it, but I know it when I see it,” said Criscuolo.
Midwestern entrepreneurs are often seen as the underdogs, overlooked and counted out, but instead of instilling defeat or complacency, our underdog status builds gumption, ambition and a damn good work ethic. Yesterday’s panelists reminded me over and over again that Rust Belt entrepreneurs have been raised to value work over words. Most of the founders shirked questions about future plans because of their reluctance to put their mouth before their hands.
When you don’t toil the land and plant the seeds, the harvest doesn’t seem as bountiful. Entrepreneurs from the Heartland don’t expect anyone else to do the work for them. They wouldn’t want anyone to.
Loyalty
It’s no secret that quality talent in The Valley is easy to come, but keeping that talent is a whole other story. I mean no disrespect to the thriving startup epicenters, but as anyone who has worked in the industry can attest the fast-paced nature of The Valley & The Alley creates an unrest in its entrepreneurs. Many of them jumping from ‘the next best thing’ to ‘the next next best thing,’ in hopes of being a part of the next Facebook or Google. And that’s why every head in the room nodded when Knox spoke to a quality that separates midwestern startups from other – loyalty.
It didn’t surprise me that of Knox’s 18 original developers, 17 are still a part of the RockFish team today. Midwesterners have a deep sense of appreciation when someone takes a chance on them. Maybe it’s because we grew up with teams like the Bears, or the Cubs but we don’t jump ship when the times get tough, we sit in subzero temperatures and dream of next season.
Leadership
Everyone that has attended Chicago Ideas Week has witnessed the passion of this city’s entrepreneurial leaders. Groupon investor, Lightbank cofounder and Chicago Ideas Week curator Brad Keywell‘s determination to bring the regions thought leaders, and social innovators together is testament to his (and other leaders like him) commitment to their community.
JB Pritzker, co-founder of private investment firm The Pritzker Group & founder of New World Ventures, is one the Midwest’s leading technology investors and a powerful force within the community. In addition to putting his money where his heart is, Pritzer was instrumental in building Chicago’s entrepreneurial infrastructure like the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, the Illinois Venture Capital Association, the Illinois Innovation Accelerator Fund, Excelerate Labs and Built in Chicago.
In an effort to bring the entrepreneurial community together daily, Pritzer along with Troy Henikoff of incubator Excelerate Labs, Matt Moog of startup Viewpoints Network and Kevin Willer of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center have set their sights on creating a co-working space for technology startups to open early next year. Of course there are many regional leaders that I have failed to mention but Keywell and Pritzer are great examples of the committed leaders that are working tirelessly to cultivate an ecosystem where startups can not only survive, but can thrive.
Community
Midwestern startups realize they’re viewed as the step-child of the startup word, but that realization only emboldens them to pour into the lives of fellow entrepreneurs more often, recruit more new talent, and plant their companies’ roots deeper in their city.
While it’s getting easier to build your startups outside of the megahubs, it is still not a breeze to raise funding and attention in the Midwest. Unlike startups in the Valley who never have to consider or worry about their location, Midwestern startups have to consciously choose and rechoose to build their companies close to home. Every round of founding they recommit themselves to their city. Ben Milne, founder & CEO, of (BizSpark company) Dwolla , said this of building and the initial struggles growing his startup in Des Moines, Iowa: “You really have to want to do (build) it there.”
And Ben’s right – it’s not as easy build here, but soon it will be.
Soon founding a startup in the Midwest will be the MOST logical decision because more and more startups like Dwolla are determined to pave the way for their fellow entrepreneurs. Soon the GrubHubs and the Dwollas will be the ExPayPalers and ExGooglers of today, funding innovators and building incubators and like their Silicon predecessors their commitment will be just as tied to their roots as to their wallets.
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