Innovation and Entrepreneurship (essay) Entrepreneurship and innovation is the topic of this essay, as it is of utmost importance in today's society. These two concepts are intertwined and can lead to great success. The exchange of ideas, often heterogeneous, is the basis of innovation. Entrepreneurship and innovation can create new products and services that satisfy consumer needs and desires. Cities with diverse populations are often innovation hot spots. With the help of technology and better communication, smaller cities are starting to become more influential in the startup world. Startups in these atypical areas are driven forward by diversity of culture, knowledge and people. Furthermore, today's hot spots contain entrepreneur-friendly spaces, talent, funding and favorable laws. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Before discussing emerging startup hubs, it is important to analyze the causes of today's traditional entrepreneurial hotspots. Cities like London, Silicon Valley, Boston, Tel Aviv are at the center of business. Their proximity to established companies, universities and colleges and well-developed environment make these cities attractive for businesses. According to Ressi, “bottom-up efforts led by a few” are more successful than “top-down” efforts led by the government. This is because successful entrepreneurship comes from the novelty and value created by an idea. Therefore, ideas that come from the people, rather than the government, can adequately address the needs of a niche. Furthermore, without the rest of the ingredients for a startup ecosystem in place, government efforts are likely to fail. Policy initiatives simply relieve entrepreneurs of bureaucracy and do not necessarily promote creativity. That said, local government still plays an important role in creating startups through promoting accelerators and incubators, as well as ensuring that laws and policies are entrepreneur-friendly. While the government plays an important role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, other factors also influence startup hubs. For example, the flow of ideas from student to student, student to faculty, and faculty to faculty significantly helps in the evolution of ideas. The presence of universities means that the smartest minds gather in one place. Academic institutions are at the forefront of research and are constantly discovering applications for new knowledge. Additionally, the physical environment must foster innovation and creativity. Startup hotspots tend to have “coworking spaces, networking events,…, accelerators and incubators” (Ressi). Coworking spaces enable collaboration. Without collaboration it is difficult for entrepreneurs to receive constructive criticism or get opinions from people in other industries. In cities, proximity to industry experts, companies, universities and think tanks increases the ease of communication. Conversely, in a rural town, it may be more difficult to hear, see and hear what others need from an entrepreneur. Furthermore, the need for Internet access is fundamental for an everyday consumer, even more so for an entrepreneur. Cities like London or Los Angeles already have the infrastructure for such technology. A rural town in Czechoslovakia may not be. The availability of technology can determine whether an area becomes an emerging hotspot. Without the flow of ideas from others, the startup ecosystem is stagnant and it is difficult to succeed. Finally, one of the most important aspects of athriving hotspot for startups is the ability to obtain funding. Proximity to venture capitalists and angel investors is critical to the growth of a budding business. Conveniently, many accelerators and investment firms are headquartered here, and are often smaller offshoots or branches of larger firms. Overall, accessibility to collaboration, communication, knowledge and funding are the essential factors for a successful startup ecosystem. With these factors in mind, it is therefore inferred that other cities are in emerging areas for entrepreneurs. According to CB Insights, Dublin, Jakarta and Buenos Aires compete in the top 10 of emerging non-US hub cities. Austin is one of many emerging centers in the United States (Caminiti). As a college town in Texas, Austin is a magnet for students and young people. Combined with one of the nation's top computer science programs at the University of Texas, Austin's tech startup scene is becoming a hotspot. According to VOAnews, Austin's culture and recent moves by the corporate offices of Dell, Facebook and Google make Austin an attractive place for entrepreneurs (Lee). The recent development of tech offices in Austin may explain why the city is turning into a startup hub now compared to development years ago. Many employees of these tech companies tend to use their work experience to start their own businesses. The openness of the city and the university allows collaboration between people of all backgrounds and levels of education. Furthermore, the availability of financing “amounted to more than 600 million dollars” in 2016 (Caminiti). Combined with the fact that the University of Texas also provides funding to its entrepreneurial students, the availability of money is widespread. The city's vibrancy combined with its knowledge fosters Austin's creative energy, making it a vibrant environment for business. Outside the United States, Jakarta, named “eighth of the 45 most trusted cities in the world… for digital transformation,” is an emerging Southeast Asian tech hub with four “unicorn” startups (Wijaya) Many entrepreneurs tend to flock to Jakarta for technology and digital businesses. As the population grows in Asia and there is less and less space available in Hong Kong, Mumbai or Tokyo, many flock to Jakarta in search of business ventures are supported by the local startup community. Government initiatives have eased the process of starting a business and support startups. Many coworking spaces have opened, attracting many to the city they are also municipally owned spaces. Government regulations have loosened, allowing innovators to easily start businesses without the hassle of paperwork. Although the city is on its way to becoming an ecosystem for businesses, it still lacks talent (Marzuki ). That said, this may explain why Jakarta has not traditionally been considered an entrepreneurial hotspot. However, with the city itself open to new collaborations, thriving economy and business-friendly regulations, Jakarta is poised to become one of the next startup hubs. Traditionally, Dublin has always been overshadowed by London when it comes to startups. London has the integrated physical, social and intellectual infrastructure to support entrepreneurs. However, according to Kobie, due to recent events such as Brexit, Dublin is becoming a new hotspot. Considering concerns about the effects of Brexit on the economy, Dublin is a good substitute for London due to its English-speaking culture. ThereIts proximity to England allows potential London entrepreneurs to do business in Dublin with fewer problems. Additionally, private and government support helps startups with funding. “Enterprise Ireland… even local councils” support new businesses and tend to help with “early stage investment” (Kobie). With the presence of Facebook and Google offices, there is no shortage of bright minds and talent available. As a result, the majority of Dublin startups are based in the technology, healthcare and finance sectors. Combined with the talent pool and nurturing environment, the local government promotes, Dublin is a promising growing hotspot. In the southern hemisphere, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, attracts many entrepreneurs and companies. According to Besserman, the physical location, community that encourages entrepreneurial growth, and financial factors promote startup culture in Buenos Aires. As a large capital city in South America, it offers easy access to the rest of the continent, broadening the potential market. Additionally, the lateral difference from New York City allows for easy communication across the 1-hour time zone. Meetings with potential investors or other businesses are not necessarily hindered by time. Additionally, most coworking spaces in Argentina are based in Buenos Aires. The availability of these spaces allows for greater entrepreneurial training and networking workshops that help promote the startup ecosystem. In addition to help from the private sector, the government promotes entrepreneurship through its incubator program. This not only provides a potential source of funding, but sends a signal that Buenos Aires is ready for businesses to thrive. Finally, financial influences in Buenos Aires contribute greatly to the emergence of a hotspot. The cost of living and wages mean that a business owner can spend less on their living expenses while saving money on investing in physical labor for the business. Skill and talent levels in Argentina are comparable to those of the United States with “the highest English proficiency in Latin America” and the “largest number” of “tertiary-educated citizens” (Besserman). The salary of a software or web developer in Argentina is much lower than that of its US counterpart. This allows a company to target English-speaking countries while maintaining a low cost, a preferred balance in the startup phase. Buenos Aires has all the potential to become a startup hub with its availability of talent, money, ease of regulation and access to diverse markets around the world. Across the ocean from South America, Nairobi, with poor infrastructure and relatively high crime rates, is not a city when you think of startup hotspots. However, the increase in graduates with degrees in STEM fields has made this city relevant. Factors such as IBM investments, government initiatives and the increase in mobile phone usage have positively changed the technology startup sector in Nairobi (Henry). Thanks to IBM's attention, many people flock to Nairobi as a source of jobs and networking. These young collaborators also bring their entrepreneurial ideas. The recent increase in cell phone ownership has brought with it creative ideas. Mobile app innovation is the product of rapid expansion (e.g. mobile phones) and non-technological needs (e.g. agriculture). For example, according to Henry, a startup recently developed an app to allow farmers to check the prices of agricultural supplies and sales. This has effectively eliminated the middlemen and has the potential to increase.
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