Tech Scale-UPS disfruta de una ' pista ' más larga en el área de Sacramento

14 de diciembre de 2016

Silicon Valley has long been thought of as perhaps the global epicenter for technology innovation.

After all, tech giants like Google and Apple were birthed here decades ago, while Facebook, LinkedIn and a host of successful tech startups have since flourished in the region. While few regions can lay claim to a tech cluster anchored by such industry heavyweights, a similar story of technology entrepreneurship and startup success is emerging just miles away in Sacramento.  

Time is of the essence for any startup or scale-up, especially for companies that place a premium on the commercialization process. Tech companies are increasingly recognizing the competitive advantage and cost savings of scaling up in the Sacramento region. The Sacramento area offers them increased ‘runway’ to get their product off the ground by offering business cost advantages that allow the dollars invested in their product to go much further in the Sacramento region relative to those tech startups operating in other markets.

En septiembre, esta empresa de inicio de 13 personas que administra los pagos de manutención de menores a través de su aplicación SupportPay se trasladó desde Santa Clara, CA a Sacramento. El acceso y la asequibilidad de talentos altamente calificados fue un principal contribuyente a la decisión de la compañía de trasladarse a Sacramento.

Over just the past several months, promising startup companies operating in the Bay Area have opted to leave the region’s high cost business environment and set up shop in the Sacramento region. These company relocations are not made lightly, and they collectively speak volumes about the potential for tech startups to thrive in the Sacramento region. Recent relocation announcements include:

• Parrable – This San Francisco-based maker of marketing software announced in August that they would locate a facility in Sacramento that they hope will grow to employ 70 people in the next three years. The bulk of the company’s employment will be shifted to the Sacramento facility. The Sacramento region’s competitive labor costs and overall access to top talent were cited by Parrable as being top site selection factors that influenced their decision.

• Ittavi, Inc. (SupportPay) – En septiembre, esta empresa de inicio de 13 personas que administra los pagos de manutención de menores a través de su aplicación SupportPay se trasladó desde Santa Clara, CA a Sacramento. El acceso y la asequibilidad de talentos altamente calificados fue un principal contribuyente a la decisión de la compañía de trasladarse a Sacramento.

In addition to the growing list of Bay Area startup companies that are opting for greener pastures in the Sacramento region, a longer list of tech startups from outside the state of California have similarly selected the Sacramento region on its own merits. These companies include the likes of Flipbox digital, who relocated their corporate headquarters from Florida; AnPac bio-Ciencias Médicas Co., a Chinese-based bio-medical company; and Bee Vectoring Technologies internacional, Inc., a Canadian-based biotechnology startup. Sacramento-grown tech startups, like Skyslope, are also joining in on the region’s recent string of tech success stories, as the rapidly expanding cloud-based real estate tech firm plans further investments in its downtown location. These recent announcements – along with others – speak for themselves. The Sacramento region is increasingly being recognized by C-level executives as a burgeoning innovation hub where tech startups can thrive.

Ventajas de los costos de negocio

The recent string of location decisions is being fueled in part by a growing major differentiator between the Bay Area and Sacramento regions – business costs savings.

Recent office market reports from the CoStar Group (June 2016) for both the Sacramento MSA and the San Francisco MSA show a significant cost advantage for the Sacramento region. On average, gross office rents ($/SF) in the San Francisco MSA ($52.82) are more than double that of the Sacramento MSA ($20.83). Real estate costs are a major factor for startup tech companies who value class-A office space, and recent trends show that the Sacramento region has developed a significant competitive advantage in this area.

In addition to real estate costs, the Sacramento region also offers tech startups a significant labor cost advantage – relative to the Bay Area – for the type of tech talent that companies like Parrable and SupportPay covet. Según la oficina de estadísticas laborales, the median hourly wage for occupations involved in software development and computer programming in the Sacramento metro area are significantly lower than the same positions in the San Francisco metro area. The occupations still offer an attractively high wage that when projected out annually, are significantly higher than the Sacramento metro area’s per capita income of justo debajo de $47.000 (2014). This fact creates a major competitive advantage for the Sacramento region. While tech startups are able to save on labor costs by employing local workers, prospective talent are similarly drawn to the Sacramento region for the high earnings potential of tech-related occupations, relative to the comparatively low regional costs of living.

Campus UC Davis. El clima de desarrollo económico moderno está cada vez más definido por el cual las comunidades pueden atraer y retener los mejores talentos.

Ventajas competitivas para los esfuerzos de atracción de talentos

El clima de desarrollo económico moderno está cada vez más definido por el cual las comunidades pueden atraer y retener los mejores talentos. Además, la generación milenaria (Ages 18-34) continúa impulsando la conversación de desarrollo económico en las comunidades que buscan seguir siendo competitivas en un 21St-Century economy. This generation has grown to now represent the greatest share of the U.S. workforce, and the Proyectos del centro de Investigación Pew that they will go on to be the most educated generation to-date once they have completed their educational journeys. It is, therefore, no surprise that the Sacramento region’s recent success in drawing in tech startup companies – heavily reliant on young talent – has occurred during a time period when the educational attainment profile of young adults in the Sacramento metro area has steadily improved.

While the Sacramento region’s overall talent base trails the nearby Bay Area region, the proximity of the two regions has allowed companies like Parrable and SupportPay, to take advantage of the Sacramento region’s lower business costs, while still having access to the broader regional talent base. Ongoing efforts by elected officials to improve the public transportation connectivity between the two metro areas will only increase this dynamic over the long-term.

In addition to the previously cited business costs advantages in the Sacramento region, the region’s low cost of living – relative to the Bay Area – acts as a major draw for top tech talent open to relocation out of the Bay Area. In short, the dollars earned by tech workers in the Sacramento region can go much farther than in the Bay Area, and when combined with the business cost savings available to tech employers, the financial incentive for locating to the Sacramento region is multi-pronged.

Young tech talent who have high livability standards are the lifeblood of any tech cluster. The Sacramento region continues to develop into a competitive destination for this critical demographic to live, work, and play.

Ecosistema empresarial específico de la tecnología que toma forma

Los laboratorios de e/s – previstas como el Campus tecnológico más grande de la ciudad – están logrando llenar las brechas anteriores que existían en el ecosistema empresarial tecnológico

The key to any community looking to support and sustain startup companies lies in the presence of a well-resourced and easily accessible entrepreneurial support system. Having ready access to mentorship opportunities, co-working space, technical assistance services, and prospective investors can make or break many early-stage startup companies. This story is no different in Sacramento, where Laboratorios de e/s – envisioned as the city’s largest tech campus – is succeeding in filling the previous gaps that existed in the tech entrepreneurial ecosystem. This vibrant co-working space and technology incubator is helping change the conversation about the region’s potential as a birthplace for innovation. In addition to the services offered at I/O Labs, the City of Sacramento also approved earlier this year $10 million in grant funding to support the capital needs of high-tech entrepreneurs. Clearly, the region’s public and private sector leaders have signaled their commitment to the region’s tech startup community. The network of assets that tech startups need in order to thrive are being put into place in the Capitol City, and entrepreneurs and investors across the globe are taking notice.

Sacramento está pasando por una transformación, tanto en el espacio físico como en la percepción. Ya no se considera como un local de empleo centrado en el gobierno desconocedor de su potencial, la región de Sacramento está evolucionando hacia un destino superior para las empresas que buscan desarrollar la siguiente "gran idea". Los costos de negocio competitivos de la región, el bajo costo de vida y el floreciente ecosistema empresarial están atrayendo la atención de las Startups tecnológicas y de los mejores talentos que quieren ser parte de la próxima historia de éxito tecnológico de la región. El aumento de la ' pista ' otorgado a las Startups tecnológicas en la región de Sacramento, en relación con el área de la bahía, está estimulando una afluencia de empresas tecnológicas atraídas por el ahorro de costos que se puede realizar desde la fase de ideación hasta el final a través de la comercialización. En Sacramento, las Startups tecnológicas están despegando y disparando a nuevas alturas, estimulando una nueva era de innovación en la ciudad del Capitolio de Sacramento en el camino.