Plenty of opportunities and cost-cuts for doing business are seducing up-and-coming entrepreneurs to come to North Dakota.
WalletHub named North Dakota the best state to start a business due to high growth and accessible financing, along with abundant incentives and opportunities.
Cities along the Red and Missouri rivers like Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Fargo, are among the increasingly attractive options for startups wishing to remain competitive in a global economy.
Opportunities for tech startups
Tech startups are particularly suited to thrive in smaller communities. With the right tools and a fast internet connection, developers and business teams can do wonders creating, launching and scaling worldwide.
CoSchedule was founded in 2013 in Bismarck by Justin Walsh and Garrett Moon. Since its inception, the marketing campaign planner startup has been growing fast. As of September 2017, it ranks 22nd on the SaaS 1000 listing and boasts a remarkable 79.41% growth in only six months.
CoSchedule has expanded to open offices in Fargo, thriving in a local business community that has the human capital and the innovation potential to succeed. This in turn is furthering development within the local ecosystem.
“As dynamic as they are, CoSchedule adds a different feel to the business community because there is really nobody else like them,” Brian Ritter, president of the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, told the Bismarck Tribune. “Certainly any time you have a company, like CoSchedule, in technology it adds even more diversity to the economy. I’m encouraged to see them start here and grow here,” he added.
Local scenes are trending
The Kauffman Foundation reported in 2016 that smaller states, especially North and South Dakota, have business ownership and company survival rates above that of the rest of the US.
Beyond ease of business, networking opportunities and local support is of paramount importance for startups. Initiatives like Emerging Prairie have helped create a sense of mutual admiration and collaboration among new businesses in Fargo and the surrounding area.
On a larger scale, Silicon Prairie is a term that has brought together the smaller ecosystems of the Midwest as a competitive and friendly alternative to the brutal environment of tech hubs like New York, New Jersey, and Silicon Valley.