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Most of the people in that IBM operation were probably help desk or equivalent. There's not the base skills to create a startup there. If they had the skills, t

Most of the people in that IBM operation were probably help desk or equivalent. There's not the base skills to create a startup there. If they had the skills, they'd have moved, not taken a 46k/yr (mean) jobs from IBM. That's the recurring story with just about any small rural place. You need a critical mass to get going and it's just not available locally. Maybe given a large university with a strong tech program you can jumpstart that but Dubuque has got only small liberal arts university run by churches... I say this as someone living half the time in a rural place (PEI)... I work remotely for a Montreal company however when I'm there.

pacaro 11y ago
I hear you, and I probably agree, but the entrepreneurial spirit can be found in the most unlikely of places, and whatever the je ne sais quoi is that makes a great founder might well be as common among "help desk or equivalent". Many people with great skills are in unlikely places because other factors in their lives are reducing their choices. I worked for a bootstrapped startup in rural England that made a successful exit (acquisition by Microsoft), you never know.
- acveilleux 11y ago
  Unicorns will happen. My partner is working with a PEI-based startup (spun off from local Uni) that has a good many clients, a well established niche and probably more programmers working for them then any other company on the island that isn't a body shop. Doesn't stop them from being special snowflakes rather than a thriving ecosystem. Contrast with a place like NYC or SF where there's funding, support, mentoring available and a wide pool for hiring. In PEI, the second biggest challenge after finding someone is retaining them lest they leave the island to make 50-70% more in TO.
kjs3 11y ago
Most of the people in that IBM operation were probably help desk or equivalent. The IBM help desk (such as it is) is in India.

pacaro 11y ago

I hear you, and I probably agree, but the entrepreneurial spirit can be found in the most unlikely of places, and whatever the je ne sais quoi is that makes a great founder might well be as common among "help desk or equivalent". Many people with great skills are in unlikely places because other factors in their lives are reducing their choices. I worked for a bootstrapped startup in rural England that made a successful exit (acquisition by Microsoft), you never know.

acveilleux 11y ago
Unicorns will happen. My partner is working with a PEI-based startup (spun off from local Uni) that has a good many clients, a well established niche and probably more programmers working for them then any other company on the island that isn't a body shop. Doesn't stop them from being special snowflakes rather than a thriving ecosystem. Contrast with a place like NYC or SF where there's funding, support, mentoring available and a wide pool for hiring. In PEI, the second biggest challenge after finding someone is retaining them lest they leave the island to make 50-70% more in TO.

kjs3 11y ago

Most of the people in that IBM operation were probably help desk or equivalent. The IBM help desk (such as it is) is in India.