No MO: Kansas City, St. Louis drop off Inc list of ‘50 Best Cities for Starting a Business’
January 6, 2020 | Startland News Staff
Shots fired. A new ranking by Inc. magazine claims startup powerhouse Austin, Texas, is “leading the nation in job creation and high-growth company density — and delish BBQ.”
Kansas City? Not even on the list.
Inc.’s Surge Cities index — detailing what founders can learn from the 50 Best U.S. Cities for Starting a Business in 2020 — totally omitted KC from its latest ranking after putting the City of Fountains at No. 40 in 2019.
St. Louis (ranked No. 33 in 2019) also dropped from the index.
Austin, Texas
The report considered such elements as job creation, population growth, net business creation, rate of entrepreneurship, wage growth, high-growth company density, and early-stage fundraising deals — all areas where Austin excelled, editors said. (The Texas capital city also ranked No. 1 in 2019.)
“Austin is one of the few markets that is able to support a full range of kinds of startups — like Silicon Valley or New York,” said Joshua Baer, the founder of Capital Factory, the city’s dominant startup incubator, in the Inc. report. “It’s because we have a diverse set of strengths in our background.”
In contrast, Kansas City’s business ecosystem is dominated by the health care industry, which accounts four of its top five private sector employers, according to Inc.
Other peer cities on the list: Boise (No. 5); Nashville (No. 11); Oklahoma City (No. 39); Minneapolis (No. 40); Columbus (No. 44); Tulsa (No. 47); Des Moines (No. 48); and Indianapolis (No. 50).
Click here for the full list of Inc.’s 50 Best U.S. Cities for Starting a Business in 2020.
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
As engagement grows, KC Women in Technology gears up for 2017
Imagine if the next Mark Zuckerberg was a young female living in Kansas City. Despite an interest and aptitude in technology, imagine she walks into a popular clothing store and seeing a shirt that reads: “I’m too pretty to do math.” Subliminal messages such as this are not an uncommon occurrence for many young women.…
KC programs become semifinalists in Harvard innovation contest
Harvard University has recognized two Kansas City initiatives as semifinalists in the school’s Innovations in American Government Awards competition. Led by the City of Kansas City, Mo., the Community Improvement District Revolving Loan Fund and Women’s Empowerment initiative both are among 100 programs vying for a shot to become finalists and the $100,000 grand prize.…
The Lean Lab continues to make an impact in KC education
As the Lean Lab looks back on its third year, co-founder Katie Boody said the program is “just getting started.” Launched in 2013, the Kansas City-based education tech incubator engaged over 900 individuals in conversation on education innovation in 2016. In addition, last year marked the organization’s first step to go international, attracting entrepreneurs that…
Firebrand Ventures partners with UMKC to cultivate entrepreneurs
Firebrand Ventures has partnered with the University of Missouri-Kansas City to help local startup entrepreneurs. As part of the agreement, the Kansas City-based fund will offer graduates of UMKC’s E-Scholars program an opportunity to receive an investment from Firebrand starting in 2017. Housed under UMKC’s Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (RIEI), E-Scholars offers students…