Archer Targeted Communication

Quality of life and local incentives can lend a competitive advantage to entrepreneurs when they need it most

Philip Eggers has started six medical device companies in his Dublin, Ohio, hometown. His last five followed a pattern: Eggers would develop the product in his Ohio lab, fly frequently to the Bay Area or Boston to raise money, then relocate the company to one of the coasts when ready to commercialize the product. But Eggers has a different plan in mind for his latest startup, Cardiox, founded in 2006 to develop a noninvasive way to detect heart shunts: He wants to find funding locally and keep his five-employee business in Dublin.

As the economy reels, Eggers is one of many entrepreneurs quick to tout the ease of doing business in small or midsize cities. Plenty of factors make the city of 38,000 outside Columbus attractive for starting up: Abundant, inexpensive office and lab space; a major university, Ohio State, nearby; a growing population; and good local schools to attract workers with families. “It draws the highly skilled and educated people you need to bring in, especially to a high-tech startup company,” Eggers says.

In high-growth and more conventional businesses, many entrepreneurs find that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to selecting a place to start a company. …more at The Pros of Planting Startups in Smaller Cities – BusinessWeek (http://www NULL.businessweek NULL.com/smallbiz/content/mar2009/sb20090327_385972 NULL.htm), published 27 March 2009.

Flickr photo credit: Feuillu (http://www NULL.flickr NULL.com/photos/feuilllu/577568000/)