Is Portland really a better entrepreneurial town than Seattle or Silicon Valley or Boston? Well, at least that's one magazine's take, which has named the City of Roses one of the top 10 "startup-friendly cities" in the country. Nothing against our "TrailBlazing" neighbors to the south, but come on.
I am not sure what methodology Entrepreneur magazine used to compile the list. And frankly, I have some serious doubts about some of the other choices.
Youngstown, Ohio? Really? Maybe things have changed from the days when I played soccer for the "Sons of Italy" in the depressed rust belt town. But that would be one heck of a turnaround.
Others on the list include the gambling mecca of the country -- Las Vegas -- as well as the home of Walt Disney World -- Orlando, Florida. The article touts Portland's "collaborative mind-set," Las Vegas' cheap commercial rents and Orlando's civic leadership.
Still, if I had my choice, I'd much rather start a company in Seattle than any of those places.
Just check out one important metric in building new businesses -- access to capital. Certainly, venture capital is just one factor that can help propel an entrepreneurial business.
But if you ascribe to the belief that private investment money helps fuel new ventures, Seattle has a huge leg up on the other cities named above.
Take Oregon for example. It recorded just one venture capital deal in the second quarter for a total of $3.6 million in financing.
That compares to Washington state, which had 32 venture deals representing $122 million.
I am also really struggling to think of one significant publicly-traded, venture-backed company that calls Portland home.
I'd love to hear a defense of Portland's startup community. And I am sure this post will spark one or two.
John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow him on Twitter @johnhcook.
[Flickr photo via StuSeeger]
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