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I wasn't trying to say that bringing in large businesses is a quick payoff with no costs, but rather offering a possible explanation as to why we typically see

I wasn't trying to say that bringing in large businesses is a quick payoff with no costs, but rather offering a possible explanation as to why we typically see cities going after large businesses. Should have made that clear. There is absolutely a cost associated with either option. There is absolutely a payoff period in years or decades with either option. However, I do think it's easier to get a single company to say "yes", than it is to build an ecosystem; particularly in the context of an elected official's term in office.

mygo 8y ago
I disagree. The type of city that a big company would say “yes” to is the same type of city that could grow an ecosystem. Big established companies don’t like moving their headquarters into no-where-ville, they like being in places that any number of startups and fledging businesses could thrive in if the local municipality made that their economic development focus. Look at the 20 finalists for Amazon’s second headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City, New York; Northern Virginia, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto, Ontario; Washington, D.C.; All of these places are capable of developing their economy via creating an ecosystem that supports small business growth. And some of them, like Austin Texas and Denver Colorado, already have! I wager that it’s better to support the 2X growth of 20 local businesses that are already doing 1 million dollars in profit annually (so companies of size ~5-10) than it is to bring in one 20-million-dollar business. It’s just not as sexy.

mygo 8y ago

I disagree. The type of city that a big company would say “yes” to is the same type of city that could grow an ecosystem. Big established companies don’t like moving their headquarters into no-where-ville, they like being in places that any number of startups and fledging businesses could thrive in if the local municipality made that their economic development focus. Look at the 20 finalists for Amazon’s second headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas, Texas; Denver, Colorado; Indianapolis, Indiana; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City, New York; Northern Virginia, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto, Ontario; Washington, D.C.; All of these places are capable of developing their economy via creating an ecosystem that supports small business growth. And some of them, like Austin Texas and Denver Colorado, already have! I wager that it’s better to support the 2X growth of 20 local businesses that are already doing 1 million dollars in profit annually (so companies of size ~5-10) than it is to bring in one 20-million-dollar business. It’s just not as sexy.