技术放大在萨克拉门托地区享受更长的 "跑道"

2016年12月14日

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.

在 9月, 这家13人的初创公司通过其 SupportPay 应用程序管理儿童抚养费, 从加利福尼亚州的圣克拉拉迁至萨克拉门托。高技能人才的获得和负担能力是该公司迁往萨克拉门托的决定的主要贡献者。

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) – 在 9月, 这家13人的初创公司通过其 SupportPay 应用程序管理儿童抚养费, 从加利福尼亚州的圣克拉拉迁至萨克拉门托。高技能人才的获得和负担能力是该公司迁往萨克拉门托的决定的主要贡献者。

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 数码, who relocated their corporate headquarters from Florida; AnPac 生物医学科学 co。, a Chinese-based bio-medical company; and 蜜蜂矢量技术国际, 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.

业务成本优势

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. 根据劳动统计局, 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 仅低于4.7万美元 (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.

加州大学戴维斯分校现代经济发展环境日益被定义为社区能够吸引和留住顶尖人才。

吸引人才的竞争优势

现代经济发展环境日益被定义为社区能够吸引和留住顶尖人才。此外, 千年世代 (18-34 岁) 继续推动经济发展对话, 在社区寻求保持竞争力, 在21圣-Century economy. This generation has grown to now represent the greatest share of the U.S. workforce, and the 皮尤研究中心项目 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.

技术特定的企业家生态系统的形成

i/o 实验室--被认为是该市最大的科技园区--成功填补了科技企业生态系统中存在的差距

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 i/o 实验室 – 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.

萨克拉门托正在经历一个在物理空间和感知上的转变。不再被认为是政府以工作为中心的地方, 不知道它的潜力, 萨克拉门托地区正在发展成为寻求发展下一个 "大点子" 的公司的首要目标。该地区竞争激烈的商业成本、低廉的生活成本以及蓬勃发展的创业生态系统, 正吸引着科技初创公司和顶尖人才的关注, 他们希望成为该地区下一个技术成功的一部分。在萨克拉门托地区, 相对于海湾地区的技术初创企业, 增加了 "跑道", 这正促使技术公司纷纷涌入成本节约, 从构思阶段到商业化都可以实现。在萨克拉门托, 技术初创公司正在腾飞, 并飙升到新的高度, 推动了一个新时代的创新在萨克拉门托的国会大厦的方式。