NCET

The Northern Nevada Business Weekly is doing a two-part series on the challenges facing Northern Nevada future economic growth.  Here’s Part 1, from NNBW’s 11/27/06 issue, written by Earl Dunn:

The next big change in the region’s economy is waiting in the wings, but some worry that the capital to bring it to center stage may be hard to round up. Efforts in the past two decades that drew manufacturers, fabricators, distributors and others to the Reno, Sparks and Carson City areas paid dividends in terms of increased jobs. But they have not produced the high-wage jobs that the technology sector can create.That’s why the latest battle plan to be rolled out by the area’s economic development entities could change the future of northern Nevada’s business landscape. They intend to target young, smart, entrepreneurial professionals who would bring new business ideas to the area through startup companies. Some of the players are already here. But the seed money, some argue, is not.Ideas need fuel to fly. That means bringing together government agencies, non-profits, research institutions, and wealthy individuals to help fund entrepreneurial companies.

Earlier this year, Wisconsin consultant Rebecca Ryan told business leaders in Reno that the area will need to attract and retain professionals aged 25 to 44 to grow and sustain its economic momentum.

“Three of four Americans in that age group first choose a place to live and then they find a job,” said Rebecca Ryan, a leading consultant on young professionals.

Northern Nevada already has become a recreational mecca for young professionals who live in the region and the nearby Sierra. Skiing. Water sports. Snowboarding. Hiking. Kayaking at the new whitewater park in Reno. Biking. It’s all in place for outdoor enthusiasts.

In fact, a chorus is growing in the region that attracting entrepreneurial professionals is not only possible, but should be pursued with vigor.

A key question, says Michael Thomas, director for investor development with the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, is determining which ingredients are necessary to kick-start an effort to create fast-growth, high-potential technology companies.

Thomas said the same fervor which the region employed to encourage employers to relocate, expand and grow will be needed to assist startup and commercialization efforts.

“We don’t yet have the sophistication the Silicon Valley, Denver or Phoenix has in making this happen,” he says, “But when you see a university or a research institution such as the University of Nevada that has potential in turning ideas into applicable commercialization opportunities, and you ask, can we really do this, the resounding answer is yes.”

Tim Casey is another who believes this region can produce the next generation of successful business startups. But he acknowledges it will require a change in thinking and a change in local and state priorities.

Casey, a lawyer whose journeys have taken him from Apple Computer and Silicon Graphics in California’s Silicon Valley to Washington, D.C., as chief technology counsel for MCI/WorldCom, is director of economic development at the University of Nevada.  (Read entire story here)

In this week’s issue, Public Forum Institute’s National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship reports that, at the highest level, it’s unlikely that Democratic control of Congress will change this pattern very much. While Democrats have assumed the majority, their margins are not huge – and quite vulnerable to a veto from the White House. Thus, Congress will be unlikely to introduce huge shifts in policy in the coming two years. However, they will be able to get new issues and ideas on the table via Congressional hearings, and, as we will see below, they will also likely generate some changed policies and priorities in targeted areas.

Read the entire article, and browse through this week’s issue here

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