Innovation Chamber: Increasing the region’s population through migration (Part 1 of 3)

The Silicon Prairie Region needs to increase its population. Omaha has lagged fast growing cities like Austin for the last 50 years. In 20 years, one key indicator of success as an entrepreneurial an innovative hub will be whether the community has added people. Places like Silicon Valley and Austin have shown meteoric increases in…

About the Author: Tom Chapman, director of entrepreneurship and innovation for the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, is a regular guest contributor to Silicon Prairie News. In his series, Innovation Chamber: A Look Outside the Chamber for Innovation, Chapman draws on his professional experiences to lend advice, share observations and provide milestones to the entrepreneurial community in the Silicon Prairie.

At the Chamber, Chapman has worked with hundreds of local (and some non-local) new ventures, many very large companies seeking innovation advice and a host of funders looking for deals. To learn more about Chapman, see our introductory post.

Contact Chapman at tchapman@omahachamber.org.

Austin is well-known for South by Southwest, an annual event attracting tens of thousands of attendees to its Film, Interactive and Music festivals. Photo above from the Lean Startup After Party at SXSW Interactive 2011. Photo by Kris Kug via Flickr.

The Silicon Prairie Region needs to increase its population. Omaha has lagged fast growing cities like Austin for the last 50 years. In 20 years, one key indicator of success as an entrepreneurial and innovative hub will be whether the community has added people. Places like Silicon Valley and Austin have shown meteoric increases in population alongside their increases in reputation.

Graph courtesy of Chapman

Within that scope, there are two key considerations. The growth actually self-propels after a while because the city and the reputation suggest to possible recruits that the place is cool and you should move. Thus, after a while Austin is growing because Austin is cool because Austin is growing.

So, I believe that growth will be a result of great companies starting and growing in the Silicon Prairie. However, currently a lack of population growth is hindering the Omaha market from fully exploiting the many dynamic opportunities currently available here. Thus, a primary priority for the Omaha community (and it should be for other communities in the region) is to increase the growth rate of Omaha – by recruiting, retaining (and in my case – reproducing*) more and better human capital.

Recruiting people is surprisingly difficult. This is Flyover Country and not considered an optimal destination for many people.

Most people move to the Silicon Prairie because of three reasons 1) business opportunity – personal or career, 2) they are originally from the area or 3) they have a desire to lower costs (often tied to family costs). While other reasons absolutely exist, these are the three general categories that I see most often.

I think that within these reasons there are a couple of key challenges:

1. The Provincial

The Silicon Prairie is not as welcoming to outsiders as some other regions and countries. For example, Houston is a city that has been built by immigrants and so while the community clearly retains its tenacious Texas spirit** – it is also a multi-culture melting pot of people proud to be from somewhere but to be Texans now. I moved to Houston when I was 24 and could not have enjoyed living there more.

However, I have experienced a transplantation to a city that did not welcome me also – when I moved to Columbus, Ohio. When I lived in Columbus, Ohio, I was constantly outside the main stream because I had no affinity or degree from The Ohio State University. Within my company and within my community, I lacked a tribe or a clearly discernable way to find one. Moreover, while I found other outsiders – being in the company of other outsiders is not enough to feel like you belong. In Omaha and other communities, we must be aware of these tendencies and attempt over-welcome new recruits, students and community members.

To be clear – being welcoming means that we must be more than polite, but instead we must attempt to help every person that moves to this community efficiently find a way not just to belong – but to excel. One key example – one of the first questions that many ask in Omaha is “where did you go to high school?” In my entire time living in Houston, I was not asked this question. But, I am asked it very frequently when I meet new people in the Omaha area. Implying that the relationship that we are about to create will be tied somehow to high school can be a signal to outsiders that they do not belong. In fact, this is one of the things that is consistently mentioned when I talk to people from elsewhere when they explain how and why they feel like they are still outsiders. We have to become less provincial by welcoming newcomers, but it means more than being polite, it means changing behaviors and intentionally being welcoming. And in some ways, we as a community have to make a greater effort than a city like Houston because we do not already have a large group of non-native Omahans who can act as grassroots guides to the city.

2. The Empty Stare

When I lived in Houston, Texans could name all of the counties in the State – but could not find Nebraska (much less Omaha) on a map. I specifically remember talking to a woman in my wife’s optometry class who was trying to tell us where King County Texas was – and she described Nebraska as “one of the blocky states up north.” We should take ownership of how people view us – not as the crack in the road atlas, not as somewhere in middle America – but as a viable region with more than cows and corn.

As a community, we need to help give people lasting reasons and awareness of our community. For example, Warren Buffett is known as the Oracle of Omaha – and people know who he is – but they don’t know anything about Omaha. Omaha and the region (and the cities within the region) need a brand that sticks and is authentic.

So, I ask this question because I am not a marketing person or frankly all that creative – what is Omaha’s authentic, natural brand? I think that I know some of the features – integrity, accessibility to people and places, family friendly, a willingness to help – but not all of the features and not how the common binding story between these features should be told.

3. The Echo

At a recent dinner that I attended, Annie Meysenburg described Omaha as an echo city because when she says that she is from Omaha, the person repeats it back to her with a question “Omaha?” This needs to change because it is clear that people don’t think echoes are dynamic. These are places that are at best repeats of better, cooler cities not authentic and individual. To solve the Omaha echo, we need to express our uniqueness not in the voice of what is cool elsewhere but in why it is cool here. This goes beyond simply understanding our brand – it goes to the heart of what makes us different.

An example that I like to use is fish fries (left, photo from HistoricOmaha.net via Flicrk). No one that I know from elsewhere has ever been jealous of our fish fries before they go. Usually they are mocking or simply incredulous, after the fact though many non-Omahans are converts. Its fun. It’s unique. It’s accessible. It’s cheap. It’s for families – but also for single adults or people that just want to hang out. I would not lead with fish fries – mind you – but I think the gritty roots of why Omaha is cool tend to be these authentic, accessible opportunities to be with people that you like in a place that is comfortable and affordable.

I think this grittiness and authenticity is why iliveinomaha.com works. Building on this and helping internalize these snapshots of insight may be a valuable mechanism for understanding our brand better.

So, in short, the Silicon Prairie needs to grow. The Silicon Prairie region can only grow if it attracts people to the city and not all of these people can be from here originally. Thus, we must convince people that this is a place where they can be awesome. They can start companies, meet friends or partners, learn something new and live a life of their choosing.

Look for two more posts about bellwethers that signal growth – college students and immigrants.

* Tom is the proud father of six children – ages 9, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 8 months.

** Texanacity

This story is part of the AIM Archive

This story is part of the AIM Institute Archive on Silicon Prairie News. AIM gifted SPN to the Nebraska Journalism Trust in January 2023. Learn more about SPN’s origin »

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