Obama Confirms Austin's Status As Entrepreneurial Hub

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- Austinites are still basking in the after-glow of a presidential shout-out for the city during this week’s State of the Union address.

During his final address to the nation Tuesday as he winds down his second term, President Barack Obama invoked Austin as a city where entrepreneurial dreams can be fulfilled.

The president prefaced the reference by noting the “spirit of discovery in our DNA,” mentioning Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver as homegrown inventors.

That entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Austin and other cities, he noted.

“We’re every immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a better world,” Obama said during his Tuesday address to the nation. “And over the past seven years, we’ve nurtured that spirit.”

The Austin Chamber of Commerce tweeted the president’s quote the night of the address.

Yet even before the reference to Austin was made, the city was well represented at the SOTU address. Two Austin residents were invited to attend the speech at invitations of the president and Jill Biden, wife of vice president Joe Biden.

The Austin reference in a nationally broadcast presidential speech comes on the heels of a recent study that found the Austin-Round Rock area to be the best in the country for young entrepreneurs.

The Nerdwallet survey took various dynamics into consideration in compiling its list, including affordability. A lower cost of living translates into lower operating costs for would-be entrepreneurs, the study noted.

“Many top cities for young entrepreneurs are on the expensive side, but three of the top 10 cities (Austin, Salt Lake City and Midland, Texas) offer costs of living below the national average,” the report reads. “By reducing living and office space costs, entrepreneurs have more cash to invest in their growing businesses.”

Other dynamics to the Austin-Round Rock area make it appealing as a entrepreneurial hub for young professionals, including a 17.5 percent youthful population between the ages of 25-34. U.S. Small Business Administration loans per 100,000 residents totaled $17.7 million--the fifth-ranked region in terms of such financing--further adding to the region’s appeal.

“It’s not all about San Francisco and New York,” Nerdwallet officials said in advising entrepreneurs to look at other parts of the country optimal for business creation.

“These two cities are well-known for their entrepreneurial ecosystems, but you can find small-business loans in any city,” they wrote. “For small-business loan dollars received per 100,000 residents, Salt Lake City ranks second nationally, and Austin, Texas, ranks fifth--above eighth-ranked San Francisco and 52nd-ranked New York.”

As evident explosive growth in Austin and Round Rock attests, the region has fast become a hub for entrepreneurial efforts. Beyond Texas, that status has been something of a well-kept secret outside of those in the know.

With the presidential shout-out the other day, it’s not a secret anymore.