Seattle. Yawn.
Of course it’s Seattle, since the city encourages job creation through its major universities; focuses on cutting edge entertainment, music and recreation; remains young (it’s rainy weather makes it the
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Perhaps we’ll be able to see a next generation CoolTown in less than two years - on the big screen. The director of the Godfather is researching the ‘coolest cities’ around the world (e.g. Curitiba, Brazil) in writing a script for his next movie, ‘Megalopolis’, inspired by the 1936 movie of H.G Wells’ “The Shape of Things to Come.“
From CBS News:
“I’m not looking for Flash Gordon or fantasy or Star Wars. It’s ‘what’ will people 100 or 500 years from now be living in and what will it be
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The Conflict: Visionary municipalities have an overriding interest in improving their quality of life, retaining university graduates (stemming ‘brain drain’) and catalyzing the creation and growth of gazelles, but simply don’t have enough financial or human resources to fully carry out their most progressive economic development plans.
One Solution: With limited resources, a talent-producing university and recognition that a vibrant, affordable, 24-hour* urban center attracts entrepreneurs,
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Gazelles: There are two kinds of entrepreneurs - the ones that do business (Mom & Pops) and the ones that grow businesses (gazelles*). While it’s the Mom & Pops that offer the one-of-a-kind restaurants, brewpubs and shops that create happening places which attract entrepreneurs in the first place, it’s the gazelles that account for 75% of all job growth, plus half of all innovations, two-thirds of inventions and 95% of all radical innovations created since World War II.
Economic Gardening:
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The image to the left is the Wynkoop brewpub in Lower Downtown (LoDo), Denver - keep that in mind…
Economic development ain’t what it used to be. Just listen to Mayor John Hickenlooper from this Denver Post article:
“The days when offering a big subsidy was enough to attract a major company are over. Cities used to consider cultural life as symphonies, operas and ballet companies. All those are still important, but now we should embrace struggling artists, bluegrass bands, young talent of
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Entrepreneurs create jobs.
Just about every Fortune 500 company has a story that began with an entrepreneur and a crazy vision. Silicon Valley, Cambridge and Austin happen to have quite a few of them, and they’re the most economically prosperous cities in the country. Jobs are created by companies, and companies are created by entrepreneurs. Period.
Entrepreneurs add to and thrive on creativity, the arts and entertainment.
Entrepreneurs are often the most creative people you’ll ever meet,
Entrepreneur: A person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture. American Heritage Dictionary
Kind of hard to build, grow or improve anything signficiant without them, don’t you think? Yet when you tell someone you’re an entrepreneur, their first reaction is, “Really?!“
Now why is that?
The American Dream for foreigners is and always has been, “come to America and build your very own business.“ Sounds great huh? Yet the typical domestic American Dream is to
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