What would it take to make Pittsburgh into a startup hub, like Silicon Valley?…
When I agreed to speak here, I didnt think Id be able to give a very optimistic talk. I thought Id be talking about what Pittsburgh could do to become a startup hub, very much in the subjunctive. Instead Im going to talk about what Pittsburgh can do.
What changed my mind was an article I read in of all places the New York Times food section. The title was Pittsburghs Youth-Driven Food Boom. To most people that might not even sound interesting, let alone something related to startups. But it was electrifying to me to read that title. I dont think I could pick a more promising one if I tried. And when I read the article I got even more excited. It said people ages 25 to 29 now make up 7.6 percent of all residents, up from 7 percent about a decade ago. Wow, I thought, Pittsburgh could be the next Portland. It could become the cool place all the people in their twenties want to go live.
