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
She sends food to the dinner table, instead of the trash can; how one social venture is saving family mealtime with would-be waste
A Kansas City nonprofit’s innovative approach is reducing food waste, fighting food insecurity, and restoring family mealtime. Pete’s Garden, founded in 2019 by Tamara Weber, partners with caterers, restaurants, and food service organizations to save unserved, prepared food that would otherwise be thrown out. Weber and a team of volunteers portion and package that food…
College entrepreneurs match their student-athlete peers with NIL brand-building business
Startland News’ Startup Road Trip series explores innovative and uncommon ideas finding success in rural America and Midwestern startup hubs outside the Kansas City metro. This series is possible thanks to Entrepreneurial Growth Ventures (EGV), a business unit of NetWork Kansas supporting innovative, high-growth entrepreneurs in the State of Kansas. WICHITA — Player Card’s young…
KC-based public service news outlet selects longtime nonprofit leader as its new CEO
A nonprofit news source focused on public service journalism for Kansas City and Wichita has selected a new CEO with more than 15 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Stephanie Campbell, a former executive team member at Leanlab Education, will lead the online Kansas City-based publication, The Beacon, tapping into her expertise in operations, marketing and…
No sugarcoating it: Motherhood is tough; this breastfeeding, diaper tracking app uses tech to guide moms past stigmas
Women’s health remains a taboo topic in American culture, said Vanessa Jupe, sharing why the mother-turned-tech founder is on a mission to provoke conversations and provide resources for women — starting with nursing infants. “Breastfeeding was not at all what I expected it to be. It was a very challenging, confusing time that showed me…