Editor’s note: Chris Heivly, co-founder of The Startup Factory and a frequent blogger about issues facing entrepreneurs, says two recent additions to the Triangle’s tech community promise to be beneficial.
DURHAM, N.C. – For anybody who has listened to me rant over the last year or two, I have long believed that we need a better education feeder system to literally feed the startups and early-stage companies all around us. The two areas of most concern are software developers and online marketing folks. This is important and causes me sleepless nights.
This issue is troubling as institutional/traditional education programs (colleges & universities) are painfully slow at adapting then teaching the platforms that are most prevalent today. (When a recent CS graduate does not know about Ruby on Rails when 90+% of early-stage companies are utilizing this open source software platform . . . )
The larger notion is that we (RTP) cannot continue to grow without the horses (aka talent) to do so. The good news is I see less college grads immediately heading out to all points west or to the larger area companies. I have also observed some in migration from experienced developers which helps and supports the thesis that awareness of RTP is growing outside the area.
But it is not enough. This is not just an RTP issue and other regions have been significantly more proactive. General Assembly which started in NY as a space play with some educational content thrown in has now morphed into a new-age education business operating in 13 cities around the world.
Today there are two organizations, Iron Yard/Smashing Boxes (operating in the American Underground) and TechTalentSouth (operating at HQ Raleigh) that have stepped up to serve the software development hole.
Welcome to RTP – the nation’s best kept secret!
(This blog was reprinted with permission)
(C) Triangle Tech Media
