This computer graphic generated by the company Intuit shows the twenty world cities with the largest concentration of startups. As usual, clearly in the foreground is Silicon Valley, followed by Tel Aviv in second place and Los Angeles in third position. Oddly enough, there are only four European cities in the Top 20: London (7), Paris (11), Moscow (14) and Berlin (15).
Another piece of interesting data that can be interpreted from the graphic is that the only city with a greater percentage of women entrepreneurs is Santiago de Chile.
And although each entrepreneurial ecosystem is unique depending on the city’s tradition, the cities on the list do have some points in common, among which are:
– Differentiation
– Government support
– Presence and interest in art
Recommended reading is the book The Creative Class by Richard Florida, economist and creativity guru who, in the book, shares his conclusions after an in-depth study of the reasons behind the development of some North American cities and not others. He came to question the reasons behind this development and analyzed companies that moved to areas with a greater concentration of talented people, as well as those very people who had decided to live in those cities rather than others.
His main theory defends that “metropolitan regions with a high concentration of workers in the leading edge technology sector, artists, musicians, lesbians and homosexuals,” and a group he describes as “high bohemians”, “have a high rate of economic development.”
This could lead us to ask the question: do companies choose cities in which to establish themselves, or is it cities that choose the companies they want to develop?
