CNN: Jacksonville is hot for startups

[ben says]

Jacksonville is hot for startups

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/21/smallbusiness/jacksonville-startups/index.html?iid=A_SB_News

[IrvAdams]

This is such great news! I love CoWork Jax, a terrific place to meet and do business. DT Jax rocks!

[Tacachale]

Great exposure for those out there getting their hands dirty to make Jax a better place.

[ben says]

Good news all around.

Funny, as my friends up in Boston sent it to me a few minutes ago with the subject line: "I want to move to Jax"

Don't hear that too often from people living in a place like Boston 

[mtraininjax]

Ben - Who in the heck wants to retire in Boston?

[ben says]

Huh? They're 30 years old.

[duvaldude08]

This is one of the small things that is changning the landscape in Jax that you dont hear about.

[JayBird]

Great article, great to see!! Good job people of Jax!!

[Jameson]

This is awesome.

[ProjectMaximus]

Cowork Jax is not really an incubator, and I question whether there are seven "major" universities in the area. Besides that, this is great stuff! I know the Jax startup community is very collaborative and nurturing and the sentiment that is constantly echoed is that eventually one of them will blow up (like whatsapp level) and shine a light on the rest of the community. It just takes one to attract traditional tech VC funding to the area. 

[GoldenEst82]

As someone active in the startup scene here- this article was the first mention I have heard of local (city?) grants for startup businesses.
Anyone have the 411 on that? Google didn't help me much. :/

[simms3]

I just interviewed with a value-add investment manager that is looking for attractive pricing in secondary/tertiary markets that are on major intellectual capital growth tracks and that don't feel so tertiary.  They have invested deeply in Austin, it would be interesting to see if they have an eye on Jax.  They focus on office/R&D real estate and debt.

What sets Jax apart from all the other cities in America trying to steal back capital and entrepreneurial people/"brilliant" minds from cities in CA, Boston, Seattle, and NYC?  Not being snarky, just an honest question out of curiosity.

[BoldBoyOfTheSouth]

This is very good news indeed.

Too many people in the creative community have perceptions of Jacksonville as filled with white trash racists. JAX is often thought of only to relocate back office jobs that any third rate college graduate could manage and people only end up here because Joe and Mabel's hoopty pickup truck towing their trailer broke down on 95 and had no more money to go to south Florida.

[BoldBoyOfTheSouth]

It's most important that we in Jacksonville do not waste this once in a generation golden opportunity to transform JAX to the next level and truly become the bold new city of the south.

We need to unite to prevent the usual crowd from stifling growth and breeding contempt from created people.

[Noone]

CoWork Jax has been a positive on so many levels for entrepreneurs. There Fast Pitch continues to grow and inspire.

The real key for any startups will continue to be the legislative hurdles that are set up and needed to get over in order to succeed.

I FIND the revolving role of players more a maze that rewards the holding down of opportunity rather than letting the sparks fly.