By Colin McCandless
Business in Greater Gainesville is a dynamic, collaborative and inclusive environment with comprehensive resources for entrepreneurs that make it a great place to launch a new company or grow and expand an existing business. Home to premier education, world-class health care facilities, extensive recreational activities and a vibrant arts and entertainment scene, Greater Gainesville offers a healthy work/life balance.
The Greater Gainesville Chamber, a 5-star Accredited Chamber of Commerce with 1,300 member businesses, champions and advocates for businesses and entrepreneurs to help them access the education and skills they need to succeed. Its networking events and conferences connect people and provide opportunities to increase community visibility. Leadership programs such as Leadership Gainesville help businesspeople develop professionally and enhance their skills.
Networking groups such as the chamber’s Gainesville Young Professionals and job and business counseling services like CareerSource North Central Florida and Gainesville SCORE assist with career development. The nonprofit startGNV helps promote and grow Gainesville tech startups.
A hub of innovation and entrepreneurial talent, Greater Gainesville features a top five-ranked public university in the University of Florida and the nationally recognized Santa Fe College. The region trains future leaders in the sectors of biotechnology, health care, life sciences, information technology and education.
Between them, UF’s Greater Gainesville business incubators Sid Martin Biotech and UF Innovate |The Hub have created more than 7,900 jobs with an average annual salary of $79,200 and have generated more than $12 billion in private investment. UF ranks sixth among U.S. universities in innovation impact and the top 2 university for Technology Transfer and Commercialization.
Santa Fe College supports entrepreneurs with valuable business development and incubation resources through their Center for Innovation and Economic Development and the Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurship Center. They groom students for careers in health care through nursing and dental hygiene programs, while its Perry Center for Emerging Technologies offers biotech-focused associate degrees and certificates.
The City of Gainesville features a thriving downtown anchored by Bo Didley Plaza, which hosts music, free yoga, dance classes and art lessons. Gainesville was recently named the No. 1 “best Florida city to start your career.” City leaders have outlined a Downtown Gainesville Strategic Plan identifying opportunities to bolster its already robust economy (Gainesville’s 4.4% unemployment rate falls below the national average) while also preserving what makes downtown Gainesville unique.
The City of Alachua serves as a center for biotech and technology innovation, highlighted by Sid Martin Biotech, with 38 companies employing approximately 1,200 people. In January, construction began on The Convergence, a 420-acre Alachua development featuring residential housing adjacent to high-tech business and a 54,000 square-foot second stage incubator called Momentum Labs that will partner closely with Sid Martin to entice biotech entrepreneurs to stay and invest long-term in Greater Gainesville.
It joins San Felasco Tech City, another work, live, play mixed-use community concept focused on sustainability and healthy living. Greater Gainesville tech startup Fracture, which launched in 2009, has grown to occupy a 30,000-square foot facility in San Felasco, with more than 100 employees.
Sports tourism and agricultural innovation are the two predominant and growing industries in Newberry. Sports complexes including Champions Park, the Easton-Newberry Sports Complex, Gatorback Cycle Park and the Alachua County Agriculture and Equestrian Center draw competitors from around the state and the nation, contributing millions in revenue to the local economy for hotel sales, dining and other travel-related expenses. In addition, the City of Newberry welcomed the first tenant into its Agri-Tech Research Park in December 2021 and is ready for more businesses to join the hub for agricultural research and technology. Growth in these sectors is spurring much more residential and commercial development in Newberry, with several projects entering planning or construction phases.
Greater Gainesville is a great place to a be a woman in business, ranking fourth among 10 metro cities where young women earn the most relative to young men. In fact, in Alachua County, women earn more than men. Ample resources are available to support female entrepreneurs from the Gainesville Area Women’s Network (GAWN) to micro-communities hosting women-in-business events. “Women in Business” profiles four Gainesville women business leaders who discuss their career journey and share advice for the next generation of aspiring women professionals.
As more families rely on dual income, human resources groups and companies in Greater Gainesville are rising to address the challenge of facilitating finding employment for the trailing spouses of professionals recruited here to support their career transition and aid in attracting and retaining top talent. One such group is the GNV Talent Connect group.
Another strength of Greater Gainesville is its diversity, and its companies strive to foster a culture of inclusion. “Why I Belong” provides a snapshot of this diverse entrepreneurial community as five business leaders speak to the welcoming nature of Greater Gainesville’s business climate and why they love working here.
Greater Gainesville’s business outlook appears promising. Job growth in the Gainesville area is projected to reach a rate of 39.6%, higher than the forecasted national average of nearly 33%. There has never been a better time to relocate to Greater Gainesville or expand a current business and invest in the region.