Editor’s note: A joke circulating earlier this year lumped the Triangle, Nashville, Chicago together under a moniker that chided many cities’ perceived Austin-envy: “South-by-SouthMAYBE.” That’s a play off the South-by-Southwest festival, which has helped make Austin such a hot spot. But at the Southern Governors’ Association meeting, Adam Klein, who runs the American Underground entrepreneurial hubs in Durham and Raleigh, lets the world know: There’s no “maybe” about the Triangle as an entrepreneurial metro. Be sure to read Klein’s essay, requested by and written especially for WRAL TechWire.

DURHAM, N.C. - Durham and the Triangle have done amazing things to raise our collective profile as a destination for entrepreneurs. Part of that success has had to do with national acclaim for our universities and for the major downtown renaissances underway in both the Bull City and Raleigh.

And yet, for all our success and deserved pride, you can sometimes sense the anxiety here around our standing among other ambitious, up-and-coming entrepreneurial metros, a list that includes Nashville, Chicago, and more. A joke circulating earlier this year lumped all of these together under a moniker that chided many cities’ perceived Austin-envy: “South-by-SouthMAYBE.”

So I was intrigued when I received a letter from Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe inviting me to participate in the “Creating Communities of Innovation” panel at the 2014 Annual Meeting of Southern Governors’ Association in Little Rock.

Triangle Stands Tall

Joining a powerhouse gathering seemed an excellent opportunity to gauge exactly where our region stands. What I found is that we stand awfully tall – and that other regions are determined to accelerate and grow as well.

I was on a panel titled “Creating Communities of Innovation” along with Chancellor Randy Woodson of North Carolina State University, Jay Williams, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Brian Darmody of the University of Maryland, Jeff Amerine of the University of Arkansas, and Justin Fishkin of Local Motors.

Much of our conversation with the Governors centered on the importance of physical space for startups as well as the role universities play in fueling startup success. Our region has had great success with both of these ingredients but a further point I stressed was the proper role of the public sector in these efforts and the importance of both the public sector and groups like the American Underground to support, not necessarily lead, an entrepreneurial strategy.

In the words of noted serial entrepreneur/investor Brad Feld, entrepreneurs are the leaders of a healthy startup ecosystem–not Governors, universities or even shared coworking spaces. Regions that most fully embrace and understand how these pieces fold together, in my opinion, are the ones with the greatest chance of success. After all, it’s simple business sense – entrepreneurs are customers of a city/region now – we should listen to what they need and then get out of the way.

Factors in a Renaissance

While our panel session was cut a bit short (President Clinton preceded the panel and ran a bit long, sheesh!), we did have some very good dialogue around the ways in which entrepreneurs can drive a downtown renaissance like we’ve seen in Durham.

Governors were interested in how the entire ecosystem has come together–universities producing great talent, physical spaces being built to provide a good landing for grads and access to hiring startups, and how that flywheel effect has paid enormous dividends in amassing creative talent in our downtowns–so much so that Durham is now the highest concentration of creative class professionals in the country. The ripple effect of a young and vibrant population in a downtown can easily be seen in the restaurants, retailers, and brew pubs popping up almost every day around the Triangle.

Arkansas, interestingly, is making some real progress and I think has wisely identified ways to shore up some obvious weaknesses. Jeff Amerine of the University of Arkansas noted that getting early stage dollars into Arkansas from outside the state was going to be very difficult and that the state and private sector should look to create a venture fund not only to provide local funds but also train up natives in how to assess deals and pick winners. Further, the state is aligning a number of its university programs around the needs of fast growing companies in the state to better connect students with on the ground opportunities. This is a great example of listening to the needs of startups and responding accordingly.

No doubt, there is much our region can do to leverage to an even greater degree our assets as well as much we can learn from others. The benefits of continuing to push are evidenced by the progress we’ve already made: the Research Triangle is a recognized entrepreneurial leader. After the conference, there’s no “maybe” about it.