President Obama insisted, during his State of the Union address, on the fundamental importance of entrepreneurship for the US economy, and he especially called upon the different states to do their best to create attractive environments for entrepreneurs, referred today as “entrepreneurial ecosystems”. Well, when one looks at the data revealing how each state is doing in its attempt to attract entrepreneurs, the gap between the best and the worse is quite striking !
California still on top !
The first spot is undoubtedly occupied by California, and 2011 statistics confirm the domination more than ever.
Home to a great ecosystem composed of great universities (Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, etc.), big Venture Capital funds, great start-ups and innovative companies, the region is also inhabited by a very powerful entrepreneurial spirit, never equaled anywhere else in the world. The results ? California attracted more than 50 % of the venture capital money in 2011, for a total of more than $15 billion, and was home of some of the biggest IPOs of the year (Linkedin & Zynga…) and Facebook is expected to beat the record in a couple of months. Also, California keeps attracting the most innovative companies, that sees the region as a “start-up heaven”.
Science & Innovation Insiders 