This week on the Heartland Tech channel, we published an essay from Josh Driver, the founder of an Indiana software startup and a member of the LGBTQ community, on how his state can create a more welcoming environment for businesses. There’s a few sentences I’d like to highlight in particular:
“Personally, as the founder of a tech startup, I want to know that Indiana has my back. You can give me tax credits and incentives all day long, but I’m looking for authentic support. I need to know that the tech talent I need to grow my business is welcomed here.”
This is a sentiment that I hear repeatedly from the founders of tech startups, as well as organizations that seek to make their states more startup friendly: Tax incentives aren’t enough. The states and cities that are going to pull ahead — as tech companies, from industry giants like Google and Amazon to young startups, look to add more jobs outside of Silicon Valley — are the ones that recognize that building a tech hub is about more than just wooing businesses, but also wooing the people who will help grow the business.
What does it look like to create a good environment for tech talent? It depends upon who you ask, but a few answers I hear cited most often are: a place that’s welcoming to tech workers from various backgrounds, a place with a strong school system that middle and senior-level workers will be comfortable sending their children to, and a place that allows workers to live an active lifestyle.
We’ll be publishing a few more stories in the coming week on the Heartland Tech channel on what various companies have learned about what it takes to bring tech talent to Heartland cities. We’ll also be discussing the topic at VentureBeat’s Blueprint conference on March 5-7 in Reno, Nevada.
As always, please send news tips or feedback to me via email, and be sure to bookmark our Heartland Tech Channel.
Thanks for reading,
Anna Hensel
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