You may have seen the story today about Fort Collins ranking 6th in the nation as an innovative tech hub. That’s according to a report released by NerdWallet, which you can findhere. Their methodology considers number of patents per 1,000 residents, venture capital funding per capita and economies of locational nearness.
As I said in this story in the Denver post about the ranking, for the uninformed we’re a bit of a ‘Silicon secret.’ But as you know, we have a lot resources focused on innovation, which I heard a speaker last week at Disney Institute define as a process that begins with creativity and ends in the marketplace.
Let’s start with the private sector. Companies like Advanced Energy, HP, Otter Products, Woodward and others are regularly applying for and receiving patents on their inventions. Then there’s Colorado State University. The university has made a conscious effort over the past 8 or 9 years to commercialize its research.
Several organizations deserve credit for advancing innovation in Fort Collins including theRocky Mountain Innosphere, CSU Ventures, CSU Research Innovation Center and theCSU Engines & Energy Conversion Lab.
In terms of size of their tech sectors, most of the other places on the list dwarf us. But, pound for pound, we do quite well.