Part II: The Best Places to Bootstrap

In the past three years, Denver has attracted significant outside investments, drawing $2.3 billion from VC funds. It’s no wonder that ~80% of survey respondents from Denver anticipate that their business will grow faster in 2020. Denver also has one of the highest scores on Mainsail’s STEM index, a proprietary metric that takes into account post-secondary STEM growth and presence in each city.

Though Houston is the 4th largest city in the US, it falls in the 40th percentile for median home price ($178,000 compared to $400,000 in NYC), making it an excellent place for bootstrappers to settle down. The city is also ranked in the top ten for number of STEM graduates produced each year, so it is no surprise that 100% of entrepreneurs from Houston responded that they have access to top talent for some or all open positions.

With its low corporate tax rates and affordable cost of living, Charlotte continues to offer a strong foothold for bootstrapped companies. The Survey found that 25% of Charlotte-based respondents are considering making an acquisition in 2020, as compared to only ~7% of all respondents. Don’t forget that Charlotte is home to one of the largest M&A advisory banks in the world—Bank of America.

The entrepreneurial community in Baltimore has high expectations for a strong future. 80% of Baltimore-based respondents predict their companies will grow faster and hire more talent this year as compared to last (69% shared this optimism nationwide). Additionally, entrepreneurs in Baltimore view their location as an asset with 50% giving the highest possible rating for how much their geography contributes to their success.

Columbus is quickly emerging as one of the hottest cities for tech entrepreneurs. Although cost of living has risen in Columbus over the past 5 years, it’s still affordable compared to other major cities in the Midwest. The median home price in Chicago is still ~40% higher than Columbus ($241,000 vs. $169,000).

Music City continues to establish itself as a top destination for healthcare entrepreneurs. In 2019, the city of Nashville estimated that healthcare companies generated nearly $39 billion of economic benefits, a number that continues to grow. Half of our survey respondents in Nashville reported being in healthcare, compared to a quarter of respondents overall.

Home to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this college town has a steady supply of up-and-coming talent. In 2019, the university saw a 4% growth in STEM enrollment, compared to a flattening of growth nationally. What’s more, this talent is affordable as the average developer salary in Madison is $87,000 compared to the country’s large-city average of $108,000. In addition, ~100% of respondents from Madison list investing in development as a top investment area for 2020.

If you’re looking for a readily available and highly educated labor force, the Research Triangle has a lot to offer. In Raleigh, 80% of entrepreneurs say they have access to top talent at every position, compared to 63% nationwide. Plus, a low cost of living makes for high quality of life. It’s no surprise that startups in North Carolina raised have been raising an average of $1.5 billion every year for the past 3 years.

Perhaps it’s the Midwest work ethic permeating the city’s business culture, but we found Minneapolis’s bootstrapped entrepreneurs to be uniquely focused on employing product strategies in 2020. Compared to only ~40-50% of entrepreneurs definitely employing product strategies in 2020, over 80% of Minneapolis based entrepreneurs are definitely implementing product strategies such as building complementary products and enhancing existing products in 2020.