By Tim Giuliani
“The days of Gainesville being ‘business friendly’ are over, and a new era of being ‘business hungry’ has begun.”
As our 2013 chairman, Mitch Glaeser, said in his induction speech at our annual meeting, Toast to Business, in January, our community is hungry for business.
By bringing all of our area’s business leaders together to work collaboratively in building a community that fosters innovation and technology, Innovation Gainesville has helped create an environment here that is ideal for businesses not only to start, grow and thrive, but for businesses to relocate or expand to our community. By nurturing and bringing innovative technology companies here, our entire community stands to benefit.
Research has shown that the creation of one job in innovation or technology industries creates at least five other jobs throughout the community. With this in mind, it is easy to see the benefit of attracting companies like Mindtree, that will create more than 400 high-wage, tech jobs locally—with aspirations for potentially 1,000. The vision of an innovation economy in Gainesville will be defined in the coming years, as we continue to attract businesses like these from across the nation and world.
It isn’t just Mindtree and the attraction of outside businesses, but the growth of our own. RTI Biologics, SumTotal Systems, Inc., Prioria Robotics and many others are those that are thriving and expanding locally. These successes in 2012 are just the beginning, and the momentum will continue to grow.
Other businesses, both in the United States and internationally, are taking notice of the attractive economic climate of Gainesville—a change Silver Airways and Mindtree have already taken advantage of. As more companies move and thrive here, we will be able to retain and grow our local talent by providing the career opportunities they strive for. The focus is on developing talent and keeping them in Gainesville.
It is time to announce that Gainesville is hungry for business. Our regional community is on the world stage, and we will not disappoint.
