Nashville Technology Council

The Nashville Tech Story (7/1/2009)

Q. Where do you live?
A. I live in Nashville TN.
Q. Did you move there to be a singer/songwriter?

This is a common question for those moving into the Nashville area. Nashville can sometimes be viewed as a town with one type of employment or goal. That is to write, produce, and perform music.  However, Music City is much more complex.

Nashville contains a diverse group of people and a large variety in the job market. You can find a little bit of everything in this area. From those in the music business to technology based jobs to the food industry to healthcare. The list is endless. It is because of the diversity that this region will bounce back from the recession faster than other areas.

Nashville has industries that were hit hard by the economy and others that were not affected. Due to the wide range of companies in this area they were able to balance each other out and make a steady come back.  A study conducted by the Nashville Technology Council back in May, showed that the amount of IT jobs available in the region had dropped by 36% since this time last year.  The vacancy rate at various major organizations in the area was also slightly down.

A study was conducted which took into account local job markets, gross metropolitan product, real estate sales and wages for the first quarter of this year and compared it to the 2008 first quarter. The study showed that Nashville contains the best housing prices. One of the benefits for Nashville is that it never had a big housing boom, and therefore never suffered a big housing bust. Realtors believe the local housing market is stabilizing.

To read more on this topic, visit the story posted in the Tennessean by clicking here

Triple Crown?

While we don’t have a horse in the running for the Triple Crown this year, we do a city trying to pull off a Triple Play.  Nashville is working to position itself as a mecca for Music, Health, and Technology.  Underlying the success of all three industries is the entrepreneurial spirit in Nashville. Can it be done?

Milt Capps reported in his Blog this week about the Washington Post story covering The National Economic Stress Index from the AP.  The story specifically calls out Nashville and our ability to transform the city using the Music City Brand.  Check One.  More and more our city is being held out in national publications as unique.  We need to continue to embrace this as part of our culture.  Visit the index, it is very cool use of data and technology.

Second is our dominance in Health Care.  The work of the Nashville Health Care Council has been exceptional in branding Nashville as the Silicon Valley of Health Care.  And it is true.  The Provider and Payer industries growing out of Nashville is extraordinary and should continue to help the city weather the economic turmoil.

Third is our entrepreneurial spirit.  Approximately 21.6% of economic engine of the city is compromised of self employed/entrepreneurial ventures.  That is amazing.  We lead most major cities in this category.  The history as revealed by Ralph Schultz goes back centuries and continues to drive the economy.  So in building a brand as an entrepreneurial city, we first need to recognize it ourselves and then begin to promote it externally.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with a packed room full of young energetic, smart college students as part of Vanderbilt’s Accelerator Program.  It was facinating to hear their perceptions of Nashville after a great series of presentations from the Chamber, CVB, and local entrepreneurs.  What I learned is that Nashville is experimental city, meaning that when people physically experience what our city has to offer, they are surprised and excited.  They want to stay.  I can’t wait to see what these young minds come up with in Branding Nashville as an Entrepreneurial City.

I am ready to bet on our ability to win the Triple Crown.  How about you?

Is Nashville’s Tech scene cool enough for the next generation?

This was interesting question posed to me recently.  My gut reaction was “probably not”.  However, after I spent more time thinking about the question, I began to change my mind.  Let me share with you my thought processes.

The following are reasons why I initially questioned if we are cool enough for the next generation of technologist:

1. We have a lot of healthcare technology that drives the market.  I have long said that healthcare is about five years behind banking, which is five years behind the rest of the world.  Some parts of healthcare are just not sexy from an IT standpoint.
2. We do a lot of transactions through Nashville.  Not very sexy, but highly profitable.
3. We have a lot of non-tech industries headquartered here including publishing, tires, religion, restaurants, and baking.

So what turned my thinking around?  I came up a list of reasons why I do think we are cool enough to attract the next generation of technologist.

1. Where there is music, there is a creative vibe.  Think Austin and Seattle.  Technology and Music have always blended well together and Nashville is no exception.  We are afterall, Music City.
2. In the area of healthcare, we have some amazing startup companies trying to transform healthcare through transparency and eHealth.  In addition, our local hospital systems should be the beneficiaries of Stimulus Money in 2-3 years.  The new tools being built are using open architecture to manage a crazy amount of data.  We are the Silicon Valley of Healthcare.
3. Even in publishing, bakeries, and manufacturing, technology is rampant.  The point of sale systems in restaurants are crazy smart at inventory management, dashboarding sales, and maintaining personnel shifts.
4. Our Barcamps, Podcamps, and Startup Weekend have all been wildly successful.  They didn’t get the main stream media they deserved, but the tech community nationwide took notice.
5. We have some serious social media mavens that have significant followers all across the US.
6. We have a growing segment in web design, architecture, and LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP).
7. We have a growing list of startups including Moontoast, GPS Assassins, Credence Health, and others…

As you can see, when you look at our positive attributes, it is easy to see why we are already cool – Check out Techville.  Still don’t believe me, show up at TechNashville on Thursday, May 21, 2009 at the Franklin Marriott in Cool Springs.