Interesting timing of my last post. The 2010 Silicon Valley Index was just released and already national publications are pointing to it's rather shocking reference of Huntsville, Alabama as a potential competitor to Silicon Valley, due to Huntsville's strong position in Federal procurement.
See: Business Week and Wall Street Journal Articles
Of course, that bold prediction can not come to significant fruition unless Alabama takes a more proactive role in understanding the oportunity that is available and providing appropriate resources and support.
Some of the challenges include:
1. Shortage of seed/startup stage funding
2. Lack of a large local biotech company to commercialize local medical university innovations
3. Connecting the managerial and innovation talent to the opportunities
4. National perception
There are certainly more challenges than those above, but those are some of the big ones. But, they are not insurmountable if our local and state leaders (both public and private) really want to tackle the issues that can help drive Alabama forward.
