Land of Potatoes Aims to Be High-Tech Hotbed

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September 30, 2004 by Dane Carlson | 1 Comment

One of the developing trends that I’ve been following closely on this weblog is the increasing influence of entrepreneurs from small town middle America. I think that technology is quickly removing any economic benefits from operating your business in a major metropolitan area. This article from Reuters is a perfect example of that thinking:

What is unusual about Moeser’s effort is that his start-up company, Dedicated Devices Inc., is based in a suburb of Boise, Idaho, in a sparsely populated northwestern state best known for its potatoes.

“I think this is the hotbed of entrepreneurship in the country right now,” Moeser said.

That statement may seem unlikely in the Boise area, where the slow pace of life, lesser traffic and low-rise landscape recalls America in the 1950s. Yet boosters of Idaho, population 1.3 million, say those very features are what lure and keep 800 high-tech companies in the state.

“I don’t think there is anything other than a great lifestyle that would draw companies here,” said Mark Solon, who heads a $27 million Boise venture capital firm that has invested in Dedicated Devices. “It’s very Sleepy Town, U.S.A., and it’s very appealing.”