PHX Should Be The 5th Best Startup Hub In The USA (Not 1st, Not 10th)
This is a niche topic, but maybe this post can be applied to your city, so read on if you want to take the same conversation to your own city/town.
I'm born and raised in Phoenix. I've been a participant in the startup community for about a decade. I've seen a ton happen during that time. The highs. The lows. Competent people building the scene up and incompetent people tearing it down. I wanted to open up a series of written conversations here Product Hunt NOT about what is wrong with our hub, but focused on the forward looking question of "how can we be top 5 hub in the country"?
Why top 5? Well we aren't going to beat SF, NYC, or LA in the next 20-30 years. Let's just be honest. Moving on, being the 4th best would mean beating out Seattle, Austin, Miami, SLC, etc. All of them. Are we capable of that? Maybe, but probable not. It feels out of reach. I don't think it's a realistic goal. But what if we were in the mix? What if were gunned for the 5th spot? it's still extremely aggressive, but I think much more realistic than 1st and more optimistic than 10th.
Thoughts?
Can you get the city involved to offer perks to startups? Maybe they already do? One of the reasons Denver's startup scene grew so quickly was that they offered startups extremely cheap or in some cases even free office space for a limited time in order to sway founders to relocate.
Love this approach—realistic optimism is often what drives actual change. Instead of chasing SF/NYC, focusing on making Phoenix a solid top 5 hub sounds like a strategy that could actually work. A thriving startup scene isn’t just about funding; it’s about talent density, founder-friendly policies, and fostering innovation at the earliest stages.
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My partner and co-author, who’s from Phoenix, has shared similar thoughts about its startup ecosystem... tons of potential but also structural challenges. What areas do you think PHX should double down on?