This city is the next Silicon Valley

In order to fight off their massive debt, California has been implementing massive tax hikes and business fees. The worsening business conditions have made many companies turn away from the prospect of Silicon Valley and are now looking for a new place where startups are thriving. Texas’s low taxes and business friendly environment have made Austin the option that many business are looking for. CNN reports on Austin’s startup boom and one company that is driven to make sure the city thrives:

Capital Factory is a collaboration between the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Josh Baer — a man who has become so integral to the city’s start-up scene that he’s known as the “Austinpreneur.”

Baer originally founded Capital Factory in 2009 as a start-up accelerator focused on helping young companies get started and attract investors. In May, the chamber selected it to run the 22,000-square-foot space that Baer hopes will make a city with an already thriving tech scene even better by creating a downtown hub.

With an unemployment rate under 6%, Austin is a bright spot in what has been a gloomy national economy. Tech start-ups have played a huge role in keeping the Austin economy strong, with more than 4,000 companies employing more than 100,000 people.

Baer believes that a space like Capital Factory will give Austin-based companies a new advantage when it comes to hiring in the future.

The No. 1 problem for many tech start-ups is recruiting great engineering talent. Baer said Capital Factory will be the edge Austin needs.

“We’re going to be bringing in just a pipeline of talent and we’re going to be teaching them the skills that they need,” he said. “They’re going to walk in here and say ‘Wow, this place is amazing. I want to work here. Which companies are here?’ ”

Technology start-ups may be nothing new to Austin, but Baer’s Capital Factory takes a new approach to fostering them.

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