Category technology

Philadelphia is becoming an Emerging Tech City

 
Some of you may be scratching your heads after reading this post’s header, but there are others who are nodding in agreement.

When you think of thriving regions for technology start-ups, Silicon Valley and NYC both come to mind; right? How about Philadelphia? It’s not a typical candidate for this particular business field … until now.

Philadelphia has always been looked at as an underdog town. Whether it was portrayed through Rocky movies in the ’70s and ’80s, or through general national perception that Philly is just a gritty, blue-collar city. Although the latter may be true (in a sense), there is a new class growing in the heart of our great city; the creative class.

And with the city’s recent approval of small business flexibility, the playing field is being groomed for more successful start-ups to maintain profitability in Philadelphia during their younger years; which is the true test of contenders and pretenders.

This article should help shed some light.

Philadelphia’s “underdog” start-up scene

 
Philadelphia is truly a city of firsts for the US (and even the world):

  • Grammar School – William Penn Charter, 1689
  • Botanical Garden – Bartram’s Gardens, 1728
  • Public Library – The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1731
  • Hospital – The Pennsylvania Hospital, 1751
  • Electricity – Big, Bad Ben Franklin, 1752
  • US Capital – For a short time … 1790-1800
  • Zoo – The Philadelphia Zoo, 1874
  • Modern Skyscraper – PSFS Building, 1932
  • Computer – ENIAC, 1946
  • We were even the first “Planned City” in North America; and that same, simple grid system still works unbelievably well today.

I’ve only scratched the surface; this list literally goes on and on. The funny thing is, almost every one of these “firsts” is still thriving today in most major US cities.

In order to carry on this entrepreneurial tradition, Philly Startup Leaders (PSL) has been helping local businesses get started right here in the City of Brotherly Love.

Please read this article to learn anything and everything about Philadelphia’s local start-up scene to date.

Will Philadelphia get its own transparent real estate website?

This has been an often mentioned, often attempted feat for real estate in the City of Brotherly Love. And yet still, it has not happened in our city. The funny thing is, it sounds almost like a simple thing to do; the creator just needs cash and time.

A Philadelphia website that defines neighborhood boundaries (my website has only identified them, as well as supplied readers with handy links), lists property essentials (price, size, etc.), and provides up-to-date, accurate information to its user base (unlike Craigslist, which is only as accurate as its author). To be honest, it almost sounds too good to be true; not only for buyers, sellers, and renters in Philadelphia, but also for real estate agents.

Feel free to read on and learn more about what may be coming soon.