How to Replicate Amazon’s Success in Rising Cities
Since the rumor mill started regarding the final Amazon HQ2 selections, I have been fielding questions about the validity of the Rise of the Rest thesis. Do Amazon’s selections mean that Rise of the Rest cities will never access the tech economy in a meaningful way? Does it mean that big tech will always choose to invest in coastal cities, further enriching strong startup ecosystems?
Let me be the first to say that of course, it would have been great if Amazon chose an unexpected location between the coasts. It would have signaled that a more equally dispersed innovation economy is possible and it would have accelerated that progress for one lucky city.
But to say that the end result dispels the notion that great companies can start and scale anywhere suggests that startup ecosystems require a big tech outpost to progress. I just don’t believe that to be true. In fact, I believe that the Amazon decision could — and should — have a net positive impact on the other 236 cities that didn’t make it to the finish line. Here’s why:
The HQ2 search process galvanized cities to drive collaboration between universities, economic development groups, civic leaders, and startup ecosystem builders. Those efforts should continue, as they could end up being catalytic for many cities. This should not be viewed by community leaders as the end of an unsuccessful bid process, but rather the beginning of creating a thriving startup community, that might — just might — launch the next Amazon.
If these cities continue the work that the Amazon bid process started, then those startups will hopefully get better access to talent and capital sooner rather than later. It’s important to remember that Amazon didn’t seem like a transformative company when it first started, as one of several online book sellers. But it evolved to become an incredibly influential company with a big portfolio of businesses. And Seattle was having lots of challenges before Microsoft and then Amazon decided to set up shop there.
We can replicate Amazon’s story in other rising cities, but we need to celebrate entrepreneurship and risk-taking in those cities for that to occur. It won’t be easy. For many cities, this is the start of a long-term process. But I’m hopeful that one day we will look back on this as the dawn of a startup revolution.
