Jon Suarez-Davis (jsd)’s Post

📝 Check out our newest blog post: Explore Two Cities for the Price of One in South America 🇦🇷🇨🇱 In this piece, we look into the architectural beauty, rich histories, and cultures of South American cities Click below to read more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/e2S_5Rjm #TravelBlog #Travel #StartUp

Queenstown is the location of many of the photos inside this report... Queenstown is the chosen home of many the founders and major investors of the success stories celebrated in this report... However, there is NO mention of Queenstown's tech community and the amazing opportunities it presents to our country. The word "Queenstown" doesn't appear once MBIE's Startup Council's new report. Overlooked - once again! There's some excellent work in the report and I wholeheartedly applaud the efforts and intentions by the group, but what a shame to overlook the amazing things happening in the Otago region - which was the fastest growing tech industry in the country last year. The suggested focus on Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch as concentrated tech hubs is disappointing - but unsurprising considered there was no representative from the lower South Island on the council. We have world-class founders, investors and startups in our region. We are so much more than just a pretty location. One day I hope this will be recognised by the policy makers... Until then, it's their loss! ☺ https://lnkd.in/d5YUtQi3

The Walkable Valley > Silicon Valley Many of the investors behind a bold strategy to create a walkable new city in the Bay Area have previously made some very successful bets so we should give this plan due consideration. a16z Bio + Health, Michael Moritz Reid Hoffman John Collison Patrick Collison Several reflections: - the Bay Area has powered through with growth despite an appaling place-making strategy and brain dead strategies in places like SF - if they can crack the housing shortage in part by building new cities this will be a massive value unlock - Austin TX, which is gunning to be an alternative to the Bay Area, just reduced minimum lot size to 2500 sqft and will have another housing, population and tech boom as a result - what if the US can re-imagine a European-style city (kind of like Starbucks reimagined the cafe experience) - and pívot the model from suburbia to a dense core / walkable city (dare I say Knowledge Towns)? - if/as these new kinds of cities demonstrate that they improve health and add 5-10 years of extra life - this will further motivate the US system to reform - we will see that they can simultaneously solve our health, environmental, and economic challenges and generate very good investor returns - if this takes off, every state in the country will jump in on a new race to build these kinds of places - I believe there will be a new race - this kind of model could attract over $1 trillion in investment (6.5m homes needed in the US at $200k/home is $1.3 trillion) - in tech areas, new housing drives new tech investment so we should also expect a new wave of tech investment in the $1 trillion range - the combined effect of new housing, new tech, longer lives will result in another wave of value growth - easily another $10 trillion in market cap - if the East Coast and Midwest states don’t jump on this trend and let the West Coast (and likely the South) dominate the new city model, these regions will massively miss out on growth - - paradoxically, the East Coast and the Midwest both have 100s of existing cities that could be converted into Next Gen walkable places - it is theirs to lose! - if the US figures out how to solve quality of life through walkable and high quality liveable cities and housing abundance, it will become even more of a talent magnet David Staley

Four of the top five best large cities to start a business are in Florida - Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville and Miami - with St. Petersburg rounding out the top 10. WalletHub noted that the Florida cities have a high survival rate for startups, strong growth rates for working-age population and a large number of investors per capita among other benefits. http://spr.ly/6046jyUcp #NationalSmallBusinessWeek #smallbusiness #Florida

DON’T ALWAYS TRUST THE FACADE! 🏠Whilst the frontage of this beautiful building in Bayswater looks pretty normal, the property has a quirk! It’s not what you would expect…It doesn’t exist! 🚇 Dating back to the 1860s when the tube lines were built, many houses had to be demolished and this was one of them which has been discreetly hidden! 🏡 This is not too dissimilar to business! Hector Hughes co-founder of Unplugged posted a fantastic post yesterday about startup life! ☝️LinkedIn usually only shows the UPS 👇But remember start-up life is full of DOWNs 🚀“Even our launch was a mess. The delivery driver refused to install our first cabin. 🚜 He took one look at the field it needed to go across and wouldn't have any of it. 🏋️♂️ A 5 ton cabin about 500m short of where we needed to get it. So close but so far. ⛔️ But there was a way through. We had to build a road across the field & call back the driver. Many hours of laying track later and we got it in! ✅ Every "success story" is usually just thousands of failures knitted together & flecked with occasional wins. Don't be afraid of the failures. Success will come eventually 💪🚀 #smallbusiness #growth #motivation

People ask me all the time, "Why did you move back to Cleveland?" The answer is simple: I love this city. As someone who is proud to now call Cleveland home, I have always believed in the incredible potential of our city and the unmatched entrepreneurial spirit that thrives here. Cleveland has more than meets the eyes—it's a community brimming with innovation, resilience, and a unique blend of cultural and industrial heritage. From our storied past as a powerhouse of American industry to our present-day advancements in technology and healthcare, Cleveland's industrial heritage is the foundation for our dynamic industrial future. This vibrant energy is what inspires me every day. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce Encore Venture Labs: a venture studio dedicated to building innovative startups in advanced manufacturing, the water economy, and clean-energy sectors. At Encore Venture Labs, our mission is to harness this spirit and potential to re-awaken transformative growth and innovation. A special thanks to Andrew Rising, Jim Bark, and Michael Nieset for allowing me to be a part of this journey. Your dedication and vision have been inspiring in bringing Encore Venture Labs to life. Cleveland’s future is truly limitless if we all work together. By collaborating, sharing ideas, and supporting each other, we can build a city that not only honors its rich industrial past but also pioneers new paths across multiple sectors. Let's make this region the epicenter of entrepreneurial and industrial excellence. Cleveland, it's our time. #Cleveland #CLE #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #Manufacturing

For this year's #BestofMidwest2023 we took a look at how Midwest cities stacked up against major metros such as Los Angeles, Miami and Austin. Chicago is #1 in the Midwest Startup City Rankings, #2 when compared to national peer markets. Learn more about these rankings on the blog: https://lnkd.in/gEQiDDW3

Sunshine State

A research and industrial park for urban technologies is being built on the former Tegel Airport site: the Urban Tech Republic | Berlin TXL. With this plot of land Berlin reclaims a piece of the city and creates spaces for industry, business, and science. What makes it special? The collaborative approach. As an ecosystem and innovation hub, the Urban Tech Republic is intended to be a home for the next generation of innovators, whose primary driver will be collaboration. The Urban Tech Republic has great potential for Berlin. Some 18,000 jobs are expected there, the annual gross value added by Berlin TXL stands at 1.6 billion euros which for the city of Berlin as a whole means a gross value added of 2.6 billion euros with an effective tax amount of about 160 million euros. 📌 Places on this trip are strictly limited. On-site catering will be provided. Registrations are accepted on a first-come-first-serve basis: https://bit.ly/464fBnM #UrbanPlanning #Sustainability #UrbantechRepublic #BerlinTXL #Startup #Innovation #Future #Tech #Entrepreneurship #Berlin #Germany #Career Tegel Projekt GmbH Michael Ferenc Martyna Żmijewska Pia Sophie Laube Syri Lenssen

As promised, here's something new from our team for the Midwest Startups annual Midwest Cities Rankings. This year for the first time, we've added national peer cities to the mix to see how the Midwest fares against emerging tech cities like Miami, LA, Austin, Denver, and Atlanta. Get the full scoop (and some solid gifs from me and Ruth Brungard) in this post: https://lnkd.in/gDCiUZwq