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Don't show this to the righties! Their heads might explode:
BatchBlue is a classic example of the kind of entrepreneurial growth Rhode Island attracts, says Allan Tear, managing partner of the business incubator Betaspring. Entrepreneurs have relocated here because of the lifestyle Rhode Island offers, he says.
Tear moved here in 2002.
“I was looking for a city that I could get my arms around and sink my teeth into,” he says.
Other entrepreneurs choose the state for the same reasons he, the Riggen-Ransoms and O’Hara did.
“It has all the cultural amenities of a large place, but in a small place,” Tear says, with walk-able, livable neighborhoods and a diverse capital city. “It matches an entrepreneur well. It’s the kind of place where if you’re scrappy and used to putting together your own resources, I think the place welcomes you.”
Plus, Providence is ideally located between Boston and New York.
Now, as Betaspring prepares to launch two start-up sessions this summer, Tear and his partners are poring over hundreds of applications for 20 slots.
About 80 percent of them came from teams outside Rhode Island.
BatchBlue demonstrated its Batchbook software at a Providence Geeks gathering, events that attract the state’s digital technology community, and went on to launch it at DEMO in California in the fall of 2007.
The company now has “tens of thousands” of customers, Riggen-Ransom says. It outgrew its first Wayland Square office and is seeking another location.
I don't see what this has to do with politics. There's a large number of small tech startups in RI. See Providence Geeks and RI Nexus for more info on them.
Because Jim, if you ask the average Rhode Island conservative, they will tell you that it is impossible to do business in Rhode Island and that there is a mass exodus of businesses from the State for this very reason. You need go no further than this very message board than to see that.
And why do they spew this unsubstantiated drivel? Because they are preached it day in and day out by talk radio and Fox News. They think it's reality, but it isn't.
So while I agree with you that this should be fairly obvious, there is a very defined segment of the state that doesn't realize it, and they are defined precisely by their politics.
So Rhode Island is giving G Tech tax breaks and they are staying in the State. How does that contradict my point? Seriously, are you guys sleepwalking when you type these posts??? haha
So Rhode Island is giving G Tech tax breaks and they are staying in the State. How does that contradict my point? Seriously, are you guys sleepwalking when you type these posts??? haha
Because without giving tax breaks, these places would not have stayed or come here. The problem is that the tax climate here is not good.
I actually don't really agree with the tax breaks for 38 Studios. Curt Schilling had the money to come here if he really wanted to. He just wanted a free handout.
I don't have a huge problem with tax breaks, but the whole situation needs to change. We don't have companies knocking down our doors to move to RI. While we might have a lot of small startups here, it's mainly because they were started by people who live in the area and love the area. The only company that I know of that moved here without incentives was Moo.com. They came here because of the artist population.
Whoever said I was against incentives? The company in the article I posted decided they liked the business climate here. I guess you should debate them. The Governor I voted for, and Republicans love to bash, is actually proposing corporate tax breaks for business.
Go figure.
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