How do you spark innovation?
UNC's Ted Zoller has an answer in this guest column: "So You’ve Never Had An Original Idea In Your Life - Go Start A Business Anyway."
Rankings suggest that entrepreneurs across the region are taking Zoller's advice. For example, Entrepreneur Magazine's 2006 list of the best cities for entrepreneurs has two North Carolina metro areas -- Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham -- ranked 2nd and 3rd on the national list.
Beyond the positive showing in Entrepreneur Magazine, the Triangle region's creative economy will also be on display at the inaugural Spark Con conference, scheduled for September 14-17 in Raleigh. The conference will focus on “Igniting the Creative Hub of the South� by convening leaders in technology, arts and innovation.
CED is helping organize “Technology Tours� during Spark Con. Innovative companies will host informal open houses and real demos to showcase their involvement in the "creative ecosystem." Spark Con organizers plan to show off all the great stores/studios/labs around to demonstrate the region’s creativity and nurture innovation.
As Bob Geary at Independent Weekly suggests, SparkCon will showcase the Triangle's "creativity quotient." Geary also notes that the point of Spark Con is to have a "meeting of the minds between people who paint in studios and the ones who work in labs, and in business, and in government."
With all the buzz surrounding innovation these days, how can the region harness this creative energy to create more successful startups?