2024's Entreprenurial Hotspots
Take the pulse on which metros are "punching above their weight" early in 2024
New founders are the lifeblood and earliest indicators of any entrepreneurial scene.
In January 2024, the perennial startup heavyweight, the Bay Area, was the US metro that produced the most new founders AND the most new founders per capita.
While no one will be surprised by the Bay Area’s dominance, the new founders per capita data highlights three rising entrepreneurial hotspots. Explore below 👇
In this edition of Human Capitalist, we highlight the entrepreneurial hotspots punching above their weight and hear from top investors and operators about why their city is thriving.
Explore the data and get insights into the rising entrepreneurial scenes in Salt Lake City, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, and Burlington. Plus, read the whole post for three quick hits of the best human capital insights and the opportunity to submit your human capital questions (aka what should I explore next?)
Who’s hitting the Silicon Slopes?
For years, Utah’s Silicon Slopes have been laying the foundation to become a leading startup hub. Salt Lake has been producing top companies across SaaS, FinTech, and consumer goods.
One of Salt Lake’s most exciting new founders in January is Joe Ross who left Broadcom (via VMware) to start Enigma AI. So, why is Sterling Snow, a SLC-based investor at Pelion Venture Partners so excited about SLC’s startup scene?
“I'm excited to see the next generation of founders build on the successes we've seen and the mistakes we've made. Utah founders are uniquely positioned to build better businesses than any we've seen to date. We are going to shock the world. We’ve been laying the foundation with talent and community, early stage is where we're gonna see some magic!”
– Sterling Snow | Venture Partner at Pelion Venture Partners
Who is triangulating startup success?
With homegrown talent from multiple top research institutes and universities and a continued influx of new talent from other startup hubs, the Research Triangle of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill is fast becoming a startup hotbed. Combine talent with access to capital that saw a massive boost from First Republic’s acquisition of SVB last year and the ingredients for a thriving startup are in place.
Who’s building the next great thing in Raleigh-Durham? Mark Sears started building in “Stealth” in January after 14+ years leading CloudFactory, a global leader in AI data labeling.
Here’s why private markets’s leader Dan Costello is excited about Raleigh:
"I lived in the Bay Area for over two decades and have recently relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina. Overall, the quality of life and business potential here is tremendous. Surrounded by world-class education, innovation, a thriving entertainment scene, and accessible nature all at incredible value and affordability. There is a refreshing sense of connection here throughout the diverse community of professionals.
Thanks to careful strategic planning by the State, the Triangle’s entrepreneurial scene is thriving as incentives for companies set a welcoming stage for large established companies and startups alike. The area is experiencing a rapidly growing capital influx which is supporting the incredible blend of homegrown and imported talent looking to live and work in the area. There is so much potential for continued growth. Things are just getting started here!”
— Dan Costello | Managing Partner at Wheatear Capital
Which small metro is taking off?
Tucked away in Vermont, Burlington is home to a small but mighty entrepreneurial scene that has produced innovative startups across MedTech, manufacturing, and aerospace.
Which former employees of Burlington aerospace darlings, Beta Technologies and Benchmark Space Systems, are the latest to look for early-stage runway?
Startup founder and mentor, Ethan Bechtel, offers his take on why Burlington is taking off:
“It is incredible to see Burlington's entrepreneurial scene 'on the map'. The startup community is tight-knit and we're seeing continued innovation and increased investment across aerospace, tech, and healthcare. Going back to IDX Systems, BioTek, and Data Innovations, Burlington has a strong history and I'm proud to continue the tradition with OhMD’s patient communication software.”
Ethan Bechtel | Co-founder & CEO at OhMD
Which other metros stand out?
When you look at the data graphic above, do any other metros stand out as rising hotspots or traditional hubs that are slipping?
Take to the comments below to shout out your city, what you’re building or investing in, or the people and communities that are driving the entrepreneurial ecosystem forward.
Three quick hits
1) Where do Chief AI Officers go to school?
Chief AI Officers are in high demand. Explore the schools producing the most CAIOs. Stay tuned for an upcoming deep dive into the rise of the CAIO, including the surprise industry that has been investing in AI executives for years.
2) Fintech or “Fincest”?
3) What is the future of AR/VR?
Where are other Apple Vision employees coming from and going to?
What questions would you ask?
To put context around the “big numbers” of real-time human capital and job change data — specifically, 30k+ daily changes across 90M+ people at 4M+ companies — I started asking questions of our data.
For every question, there are answers, insights, and… more questions.
I’m constantly thinking about the next batch of questions and insights to dig into. If there is a human capital data question you’re interested in exploring, leave a comment below or reach out directly via LinkedIn.
Nice. Shared.