Makers, density and the rise of the rest: tech in 2014

In something of a followup to our first Technical.ly podcast, I addressed nearly 40 attendees at the last Delaware Tech Meetup in Wilmington with big trends we see happening in tech communities across the East Coast.

Here’s what I said:

A rise in maker and product culture

• Reaction to a generation of software, 25 years of the Internet, there is a return to the physical
• Artisanal and local movements have focused on strengths of industrialized urban centers on the East Coast
• Tech has brought entrepreneurship to wider communities, which is reviving interest in making what is new

A rise of the technologist entrepreneur

• The people who truly build are more important than the business, sales and marketing at first.
• To value a company, multiply it by number of engineers and divide by the number MBAs

A rise of density-driven innovation hubs

• From when companies moved to money in the 1990s, to today, when the money is increasingly moving to the companies. (Move for customers, not for investment)
• Dense cities and urban-like environments that celebrate live-work lifestyles that Millennials cherish are developing hubs
• Growth in Web 2.0 collaborative tech has grown the desire for proximity
• Wilmington and Market Street is a canvas. Amtrak stop, skyline,

The general rise of the rest movement continues

• It’s the sprint for third place (Behind Silicon Valley and New York/Boston)
• Economic development focus nationwide
• Instead tech needs to be like local art communities and part of diverse economy
• We all must find our strengths in financial, chemicals and business services
• Competing for our own, maintain mega regional identity