Sunday, July 15, 2007
If you want to understand some of the real dynamics of location for high growth firms, look at cases like Barracuda Networks. Access to brainpower matters:
As one executive comments on the decision to open an office in Ann Arbor:
“We're having trouble recruiting people to maintain our growth. We felt it was prudent to open a second office. I'd lived in Ann Arbor and I knew the engineering school was good. And there weren't a lot of software-development companies there to compete with. You don't have the massive number of software companies that you have in Boston or Silicon Valley, which would be good for our ability to recruit.”
Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Gaining access to brainpower
