San Diego Beats Silicon Valley as New Start-up Haven

San Francisco might be home to Silicon Valley, but San Diego is the new start-up haven. According to the quarterly bulletins from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, San Diego is the seventh best city in the U.S. for small business entrepreneurs. 33,386 companies in San Diego have just 1 to 49 employees. A majority of those businesses are in cyber-security, maritime, tourism, and construction. In fact, there are nearly 155 startups for every 100,000 residents.

San Diego has always been a great place to live thanks to its beautiful weather, quality higher education, and stunning scenery. But now it has something else to add to the list. It has developed itself as a stronghold for biotech and life sciences, mobile technology, and aerospace research says CNBC.

The start-up culture of the city is thanks, in a large part, to various programs focused on entrepreneurship as well as venture capital money. In 2015, over $1.28 billion was invested in San Diego companies, according to the National Venture Capital Association. As for the programs, the city offers various financing resources for small businesses while programs such as the San Diego Entrepreneur Center help businesses get their start.

However, that’s not the only reason San Diego and entrepreneurship goes hand-in-hand. It’s also thanks to San Diego’s talent pool. A regional study revealed that the city has the second-highest concentration of science and engineering professionals in the U.S. Even better, organizations such as CyberHive and The Nest work to incubate companies, bringing in money and resources.

“We have a culture of entrepreneurship and a collaborative environment that you don’t see in a lot of other cities,” said Jerry Sanders, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Business schools such as the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego also play a significant role in bringing start-ups to the city. The Rady School fosters a culture of entrepreneurship and was voted by the Financial Times as the best school in San Diego for entrepreneurship.

regions: San Diego

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