The average stay for a start-up software company has been 18 months, and they can stay as long as two years. 10 of them downtown. Now, business leaders are excited about returning to downtown and refurbishing it. Just blocks from hotels, restaurants and theaters, Duluth's proposed site in old downtown at the corner of Lake Avenue and Superior Street would afford businesses a similar convenience. And, unlike other incubators, the Soft Center Duluth concept won't kick businesses out once they establish themselves.
Companies can stay and grow.
But Robbins offered some consolation after considering that Minnesota has lost the bulk of its computer science graduates to the coasts where jobs in their field are more abundant. Some of them might want to return home. That's a theme that both Minnesota technology leaders and Duluth promoters are banking on. Jason Skog covers technology, demographics and youth issues.