I went to an job interview last week at a business in Durham’s American Tobacco Complex. The energy there was impressive. I couldn’t help but think it was cool that so many small companies are all right there, building the Next Big Thing.
It got me thinking that it’s high time Raleigh had a startup incubator of its own, bringing tech startups into downtown Raleigh and creating a buzz of its own. Raleigh’s downtown has a bit of a stodgy reputation, filled with lawyers, municipal employees, and electric company people. Until Red Hat announced its intention of moving downtown, there really hasn’t been a tech scene downtown. It’s time to change this!
When I Tweeted this last week a number of my friends immediately jumped on the bandwagon, asking how we begin. I heard from Councilor Mary-Ann Baldwin that plans are in the works for just this thing, which is fantastic. Too often the tech jobs locate in that desert known as Research Triangle Park when they should be feeding their own creativity in places like Durham’s American Tobacco (and, hopefully soon, Raleigh’s downtown too).