Baltimore, by a curious mixture of geographic positioning, educated talent, proximity to pork, and determined capital, is poised to become a crucial part of the East Coast technology cluster.
The city, which was long rarely noticed and underserved, is ideally positioned to take advantage of the startup economy for several key reasons. Here are four of them:
1. Geographic Positioning
Baltimore is less than three hours by train from Washington DC, New York, and Philadelphia, and less than four from Boston. It is the classic 'East Coast day trip' city, which has profound implications: It means Baltimore companies can be an active and daily part of the New York-centric East Coast cluster, without suffering New York's high cost of operations and very overpriced salaries for talent.
This also means that regional angel investors and venture capitalists from nearby states–particularly New York–can evaluate Baltimore companies as "local startups," which far increases their likelihood of investment and mentorship. I include myself in that assessment; leveraging a strong local network in Baltimore to invest is far easier for me from New York than similar efforts on the West Coast.
"Baltimore's proximity to both DC and NYC provides ample opportunities for startups to grow and thrive," said Elizabeth Galbut of A-Level Capital, which is a student-run fund investing in companies with a Johns Hopkins associated founder.
2. Educated Talent
All great startup cities have strong universities and a glut of educated workers, and Baltimore is no exception–indeed it's a clear leader in this area.
My own alma mater, Johns Hopkins, one of the world's leading research and engineering schools, the University of Maryland, University of Baltimore, and others all create a wealth of educated talent for growing startups, particularly, but hardly exclusively, in healthcare.
Baltimore also benefits here from its geographic proximity: graduates from the best universities in Philadelphia–University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Drexel–and Washington DC–Georgetown, George Washington–view Baltimore as a morning commute away, rather than a major move.
Several of the companies I have funded in Baltimore have directly taken advantage of these schools' proximity to hire top talent at very affordable rates, and we encourage our companies to recruit locally due to both its cost and cultural benefits.
"Because of its very long history as the home of highly successful entrepreneurs, scientists, and artists, Baltimore's DNA is infused with energetic people collaborating to do amazing things. It's a place that incubates great ideas because of an amazing work ethic," said Baltimore angel investor Ken Karpay.
Read more at Inc.
from http://baltimoretech.org/news/the-east-coast-city-thats-becoming-a-surprising-hub-for-tech-startups/
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