Higher Ed is Important to the Startup Ecosystem
October 6, 2008
Even though I spent most of my time in class working on various websites instead of listening to the lecture, I’m a strong believe in the value a strong higher education system brings to a local startup ecosystem.
The upper tier universities seem to be like magnets for really smart people, professors and students a like. It’s no wonder that so many people graduate from these schools and go on to create really cool companies. Even more interesting is the number of people that drop out of these schools to create really cool, successful companies.
What would the valley be like without Stanford? What would Boston be like without MIT?
What COULD Dallas - Fort Worth be like with a top tier research university feeding the local startup community? I would argue pretty darn interesting!
The Star-Telegram ran a story on area universities competing to gain top research status and their are a few quotes that really sum up my opinion on the matter as well.
David Daniel, president of UT - Dallas, says “It’s important because our economic vitality absolutely depends on centers of creativity and entrepreneurship.” Daniel also stated that “Texas’ lack of Tier 1 universities contributes to a loss of $3.7 billion a year in federal research funds and venture capital, an estimate based on the state’s population.”
Unfortunately, the cost to reach this Tier 1 designation is pretty high and in the end would rely heavily on money from taxpayers.
I would argue that a good first step is a better connection between the local universities and the startup community here in North Texas. Where are the University sponsored entrepreneurship events? The occasional business plan contest is great, but what’s the next step? We need more engagement.
With a stronger connection we can begin to build an environment that will attract companies, VCs and entrepreneurs that can, in turn, contribute to the development and enhancement of the higher ed institutions here.
