They laughed at her eagerness, she said, but they gave her the job. They could have been from Albany or Denver, but they weren't. And they wanted to build their products here. More than anything else, the phenomenal success of Gates' Microsoft has touched off the explosion of the software industry. Many former Microsoft employees have started their own companies here and others in the industry have been attracted here.
People like to be associated with winners.
Wilcox of the digital media alliance acknowledges Microsoft's influence, but said there are many other reasons for the fast rise of the industry. Other companies such as McCaw Cellular, Aldus and Adobe have also had a big affect. There's a tremendous entrepreneurial climate here, as well, that is beginning to attract a significant amount of venture capital for new companies, she added. There are a lot of states that haven't given a farthing to the industry. We have an environment in this state where we're preaching to the choir all the time.