South Dakota cities near I-29 can spur economies

When the region learns from many decades of experience that taught Silicon Valley- from which the corridor cities can learn- how to create and maintain a “habitat” for innovation – a unique setting where entrepreneurs find easy access to

• scientific research
• rapid prototyping services
• intellectual property attorneysworkforce training programs
• venture funding and
• local governments that understand the relationship between time and money.

Business starts and failures during those decades have highlighted three factors that explain a lot about why companies tend to succeed in Silicon Valley- and by extension- in the I-29 corridor development

• industry clusters
• personal networks and
• an exceptional workforce.

How to Kick Silicon Valley’s Butt by Guy Kawasaki June 06, 2006), commented on what makes for a successful economic area by saying "Be logical. Make the challenge to create a Silicon Valley as easy as possible. Thus, a region should use it’s natural, God-given advantages. For example, aquaculture in Hawaii, security technology in Israel, alternative fuels in the Midwest, and solar power in the Sun Belt. There’s a reason why the best succeed with what they have because they know everything about the resource or asset."

Why Startups Condense in America, by Paul Graham, says "the recipe [for a Silicon Valley-like economic engine] is a great university near a town smart people like. A silicon valley has to be a mecca for the smart and the ambitious."

Mr. Graham offers tip for governments that want to encourage startups: read the stories of existing startups, and then try to simulate what would have happened in your county. When you hit something that would have killed Apple or Hewlett-Packard, prune it off. Startups are the kind of thing people don't plan, so you're more likely to get them where it's ok to make career decisions on the fly.

According to Rebecca Buckman in Venture Capital's New Green Machine (January 2, 2008), "In the first nine months of last year, U.S. venture investors poured $2.6 billion into clean tech, more than the $1.8 billion invested in all of 2006." This enthusiasm for "green" products and energy is a "glove in hand fit" with agri-energy technology, manufacturing, and production in the I-29 corrodor.

South Dakotans know agriculture; its farming and ranching families are problem solvers having great work ethics and electrical and mechanical aptitudes. Agri-energy production and manufacturing are as complementary to farming and ranching operations as computer software is to hardware.