A Midwest talent boomerang

As zealous advocates of innovation in the heartland, we always have an ear to the ground for stories about the great business climate here. So we were handing out high fives when we caught this interview in The Hustle with David Hall, managing partner for Rise of the Rest, the seed fund of VC firm Revolution. Hall shared some of the action going on in the Midwest, where he sees a “boomerang of talent” coming back from Silicon Valley.

COVID has accelerated a trend that sees tech talent leaving the Bay Area for career opportunities closer to home and a better cost of living. Cities are becoming more savvy, too, establishing infrastructure, partnering with universities, and developing programs. Some of the notable examples he cites include ExactTarget’s impact on Indianapolis, Minneapolis’ healthcare-tech, Madison’s skilled-manufacturing tech, and Kentucky’s next-gen farming solutions.

The draw

Writing for Xconomy, David Brophy, director of the Office for the Study of Private Equity Finance and professor of finance at Michigan Ross, said:

“We’ll see investors and entrepreneurs from both coasts trying to come to the Midwest because the region offers a high quality of living and great schools at a lower cost than on the coasts. High-net-worth investors will see it’s now more economical to build entrepreneurial companies in the Midwest than on either the East or West Coast.”

Stay tuned! The best is yet to come.