Now in the panel discussion on State of the Technology in Minnesota with speakers from Microsoft, Split Rock Partners, Dow Jones, Geek Squad, and elsewhere…
Discussion around the level of talent in Minnesota – and seeing more folks moving back to Minnesota from silicon valley in order to work for some organizations here. Adobe has had an office here since 1995 in Arden Hills, MN, for example.
Split Rock Partners – big booster of talent locally – more than $200m invested in local tech startups and in the area of healthcare as well… but don’t kid yourself – it’s a brutal competitive marketplace.. we just believe that this standard is being hit on a regular basis here in Minnesota – but there does happen to be more density of that sort of activity in Boston, Austin, and elsewhere..
“we need more of… people who get the business of software” – Dan Grigsby
“it’s about leadership – great leadership is hard to find, they don’t grow on trees… U of MN is not a top Computer Science School.. it’s not a top school for business”… This is interesting since Carlson School of Business is a Top 25 business school…
Geek Squad founder: “so when geek squad acquired best buy… ;)… my dream is to turn the death star into a theme park, not to blow it up… no one is trying out the $500 idea within best buy because is costs us $100k to get the $500 idea through the theme park…”
Robert / Geek Squad: “Maybe we could get an API that would cause the IT department to calm down…”
“How do we knock down this barrier to risk… with open source, there’s nothing holding you back…”
Concept of Silicon Prairie as a nickname for the midwestern technology centers, like Minnesota….
“doesn’t take alot of money to write software.. it takes guts.. be bold and do what you think is right.. especially in corporations, it’s appreciated much more than you might think it is…”
“great example of big large successful companies like Skype.. rumor is that no two developers live in the same city.. we do not have to look at geography as a huge limiter…”
