Survey a group of Madisonians and they’ll often agree that there’s no better city in which to live and work. They’re certainly close on the work part of the equation.
Last week, the personal finance website WalletHub released its 2016 Best Cities to Start a Business rankings and Madison came in at No. 13.
To arrive at its list, WalletHub’s analysts compared the relative startup opportunities that exist in the top 150 U.S. cities by population, looking at 16 metrics, including five-year survival rate, office-space affordability, educational attainment of the local labor force, and more.
It’s nice to be recognized, for sure. But Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, isn’t exactly surprised by the distinction.
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Zach Brandon, president, Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce |
“There is a lot of momentum in Greater Madison, and we are glad that others around the country are taking notice,” Brandon says. “It takes five things to make an engine run: fuel, spark, compression, air, and timing. The same is true for our economic engine. Fuel is the investment capital, spark is our talent, compression is entrepreneurial density and industry clusters, air is a healthy, welcoming business climate, and timing is capitalizing on the right moment. Madison is at a competitive advantage because we perform well in these areas.”
Brandon notes business startups here have access to needed capital, a talented, dynamic workforce, and growing industry clusters in high-impact fields such as biotech, informational technology, and health care. Combine that with the fact that Madison is home to state government and a world-class university that conducts groundbreaking, innovative research, and you have a recipe that makes Madison a great place to start and grow a business.
To achieve its high overall ranking, Madison finished second in Access to Resources for new business owners, tied for first in Most Accessible Financing, and fourth in Most Educated Workforce. Madison also notched rankings of 15th in the Average Growth in the Number of Small Businesses, third in First-Year Business-Survival Rate, and third in Higher Education Assets.
According to Brandon, one of the most exciting things happening in Madison is the growth and momentum of the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem over the past few years. That includes new accelerators, co-working spaces, investments, programming, and connections to higher education and established businesses, which create more resources than ever before for new business startups.
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Madison also finished tied at 146th out of the 150 most populous U.S. cities in Shortest Average Work Week at just 35.9 hours. While employers might not see the advantages in paying employees more to work less, it’s certainly a plus for workers.
“Flexibility can offer the ability to not only make a career but also to make a difference, and Greater Madison has the right density and scale to do that,” note Brandon. “We are a very active region with many passions, and this is an easy community in which to be engaged on a variety of issues.”
It doesn’t come as much of a surprise that Madison ranked in the middle of the pack nationally for labor costs (109), corporate taxes (84), and cost of living (91), according to WalletHub.
While important, Brandon notes, taxes are not the only factor for talent and investment. “It takes an educated, well-trained workforce, it takes reliable, efficient infrastructure, and it takes innovation in all sectors to drive growth.
“Our weakness and greatest risk is in being content, in presuming growth and prosperity will continue without collaborative and inclusive action,” he continues. “The ingredients are in place and we are well-positioned to build on our momentum as long as Greater Madison remains a region where anyone — regardless of race, gender, or faith — sees and can realize success.”
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