St. Louis is losing an early stage tech startup to Paducah, which may be a trend as smaller cities learn the value of – and throw some seed money at – early stage tech startups.
In the recently published report 'Economic Impact of Missouri Startups' it was found tech startups create an average of 863 jobs each year – and they're mostly high paying jobs. Programs like Arch Grants have attracted high growth potential startups from other parts of the country by offering founders $50,000 (equity-free) on the condition that they move to St. Louis.
Other cities are taking that model and running with it. 1st50K is one such competition. It's been pulling startups like SwipeSum, SportsTrace and UpSwot to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a couple years – and it branched out to Paducah, Kentucky this spring. It recently announced the first Paducah cohort.
Paul Riat is just this guy, trying to figure things out. A fan of Max Weber, he generally gets a kick out of the triangle between economy, society and liberty. His focus on technology startups and venture capital fits because early stage tech startups are the most dynamic and impactful elements of local economies -- improving liberty and society like a rising tide.
