A former colleague from decades ago runs it, so I visited it late last year. I was really impressed. They are very interested in enabling all sort of entrepreneurship in Detroit, including that of the tech kind.
For personal reasons, I'm pretty tied to San Francisco. But if I were starting a new business, I'd look hard at Detroit. In 1998, SF/SV was the heart of something new and different. But the Internet's success over the last 20 years means that much of what was then specialized local knowledge is now available everywhere.
Michigan's universities produce a steady stream of graduates; UMich Ann Arbor's CS program is well ranked. For hiring established talent, being able to actually afford a house is a big draw, and for those not tempted remote work is getting ever easier. There's plenty of educated non-tech labor; you could open a customer service center there or in one of many medium-sized towns nearby for prices that seem ridiculously low.
I think the only real drawback is that the shiniest VCs seem very reluctant to invest in companies that aren't in shiny places. But given what a devil's bargain VC money is, and given how much of it goes right into shiny-place prices, I suspect that many could have better odds of long-term success by taking money with a local or long-term focus.
https://techtowndetroit.org/
A former colleague from decades ago runs it, so I visited it late last year. I was really impressed. They are very interested in enabling all sort of entrepreneurship in Detroit, including that of the tech kind.
For personal reasons, I'm pretty tied to San Francisco. But if I were starting a new business, I'd look hard at Detroit. In 1998, SF/SV was the heart of something new and different. But the Internet's success over the last 20 years means that much of what was then specialized local knowledge is now available everywhere.
Michigan's universities produce a steady stream of graduates; UMich Ann Arbor's CS program is well ranked. For hiring established talent, being able to actually afford a house is a big draw, and for those not tempted remote work is getting ever easier. There's plenty of educated non-tech labor; you could open a customer service center there or in one of many medium-sized towns nearby for prices that seem ridiculously low.
I think the only real drawback is that the shiniest VCs seem very reluctant to invest in companies that aren't in shiny places. But given what a devil's bargain VC money is, and given how much of it goes right into shiny-place prices, I suspect that many could have better odds of long-term success by taking money with a local or long-term focus.