Once upon a time, in a valley rimmed with rolling,
mustard-colored hills, the small but revolutionary computer
industry was born. This now infamous place has long since come to
be known as Silicon Valley, of course, and through the years, the
now-multibillion-dollar high-tech industry flourishing has spawned
thousands of storybook endings, from Yahoo! to Apple
But the fairy tale doesn't end there. Enticed by the
abundance of opportunity and prosperity created in the Valley,
cities with strong technology bases such as Austin, Texas, and
Boston as well as dark horses like Lynn, Massachusetts, are vying
to become the next chapter in this seemingly never-ending story.
"After nine years of expansion in Silicon Valley, other cities
really want to create that type of wealth," says Mark Horn,
senior vice president of the emerging-technologies division of
Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank, which
specializes in serving emerging technology and life-sciences
companies.
You can't blame a city for building a high-tech corridor,
technology district or cyberpark. High-tech centers typically lend
a hand in revitalizing economically depressed downtowns, spurring
population resurgences and creating climates ripe for all types of
businesses from retail and service to high-tech. They're a
win-win-win equation for local governments, businesses and
residents alike.
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Those erecting tech hot spots find top-notch universities and
technical talent are two very important parts of the equation, says
Wayne Clough, president of Georgia Institute of Technology in
Atlanta. For instance, Instenet service provider MindSpring
Enterprises and other high-tech start-ups operating in midtown
Atlanta are attracted to the wealth of expertise from nearby
educational institutions like Georgie Tech and Georgia State
University. They also draw from the knowledge base of nearby
corporations, including Hitachi, Bell South and Siemens
Semiconductor Group.
But it takes more than knowledge to make the real difference.
The fact that Atlanta's venture capital base isn't as
substantive as it needs to be presents the city with a real
challenge, Clough says. And while that's changing, Clough
admits the city still has a long way to go. "The metro area
doesn't quite yet understand how to nurture start-up
businesses," Clough says. Enlightened government policies such
as tax credits and other incentives from the city and state, easy
access to mass transportation and freeways, a stable of legal
professionals and business experts, and plenty of affordably priced
office space all have an important place in the creation of tech
meccas.
Meanwhile, Lynn, Massachusetts, a city with a population of
87,000 just 15 minutes outside Boston, is experiencing growing
pains far different from Atlanta's. This city is doing
everything possible to nurture its small base of Internet start-ups
and Web designers. Lynn has passed generous tax credits and
initiatives for redeveloping several downtown blocks, and has also
formed partnerships between governments and private industry.
Meanwhile, the annual Lynn Cyber District Business Plan Competition
awards winners free rent and a variety of professional
services.
Lynn's image, however, is firmly rooted in its manufacturing
past. The city has a reputation as a working-class, blue-collar
community--not as a place where cutting-edge innovation and
high-tech talent unite. "We're trying to let people know
that's changing," says Jose Rodriquez, program manager
with the Lynn Small Business Assistance Center. "We're
stepping into the technological age, but first we're having to
[fight Lynn's current] reputation."
No doubt, few areas will ever be presented with as ideal an
environment as Silicon Valley. A professor at Stanford University
from 1974 to 1982, Clough experienced firsthand the Valley's
early rumblings. He says the area's excellent academic
institutions like Stanford and the University of California at
Berkeley, coupled with plenty of undeveloped land and free-flowing
venture capital, presented an incomparable climate. Moreover, it
had something even harder to reproduce en masse: entrepreneurial
spirit.
"There was real excitement in the air," remembers
Clough. "People were truly pioneers. They realized you could
start your own [tech] business and do all kinds of landmark things.
There was a sense of enormous opportunity."
Horn agrees: "It's not just about [building] one
successful company or entrepreneur--it's about developing a
spirit that's pervasive throughout the community so [successful
high-tech ventures] can be replicated."
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