Orlando becoming better known as a startup hub
It’s fun to launch a startup if you’ve got lots of company in your community from other entrepreneurs and can bump into them at Meetups and local cafes. And the cross-pollination of ideas can make your business stronger.
But if you’re starting a business in a town or city that isn’t known for creating the next Snapchat or Oculus VR, it can get a little lonely. So how do you actually pull off the advice in Brad Feld’s popular book on the subject, Startup Communities?
Orlando’s tech scene
We spoke with some champions of Orlando’s startup scene to find out why their efforts have been so successful. Orlando has long been known for its tourism, but many people aren’t aware that its second largest industry is tech.
“It is really at the tipping point and beginning to be a really significant economic driver, ” says Rick Weddle, president of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC). In addition to running the EDC, he is president of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) and previously was the president and CEO of the Research Triangle Park (RTP) in North Carolina for seven years.
How to nurture startups
Orlando’s technology scene didn’t evolve into $14 billion industry by accident. Weddle and other business leaders have made an active effort to encourage startups.
At the same time, Weddle is the first to acknowledge that a startup community can’t be forced. “We can nurture it, guide it, support it. We can provide nutrients to the ecosystem to help it grow, ” he says. “But it’s not about organizing or controlling it. It is by definition organic and self-organizing. That is one thing we have learned. ”
Read about some of the strategies that he and other collaborators have used to strike the right balance on Forbes.com.
