TECH HUB

From Page 8

It takes a village

Word of mouth from residents and user-friendly hiring processes from employers would also attract recruits.

Terra Osman, founder of Farmish, a mobile app that connects hobby farmers and gardeners to local customers, said outsiders need to hear about success stories from Grand Rapids.

“When other people look at what’s already worked, they look at the West Coast. ey look at maybe New York,” Osman said.

And Gray suggested that businesses examine how they can support hires relocating from another region and make it easier on them.

From storytelling to systems change

Startup founders already based in West Michigan echo the vision of e Right Place’s plan to build an “ecosystem” because, they say, there’s more to developing a tech hub than recruiting workers.

Osman, who runs Farmish as a sole proprietor in partnership with a software development contractor, said support services and funding are key. She would like to see formalized matchmaking opportuni - ties for founders.

“I see a lot of much earlier-stage companies who need almost a CTO role,” Osman said. “ ere are a lot of people like myself — I built the rst version of the app and launched it on my own.”

She said Grand Rapids doesn’t need to recruit advisers from the West Coast to get startups to the next scalable point.

“ at type of talent exists in West Michigan. Connecting those di er- ent groups of people right where we are is going to be really impactful to the whole community.” (Read more about Farmish on Page 10.)

Ashlea Sou rou, who recruited her workers from West Michigan, said the area already has a solid tech talent pool, but it needs more wraparound services for founders.

She receives guidance from e Right Place’s Tech Council to run Kentwood-based SxanPro, which has patented scanning technology that helps hospitals manage their inventory. (Read about SxanPro on this page.) e council helps her understand what she needs from Brightly, her Grand Rapids-based software development contractor. It also advised her to hire a product owner and solution specialist — job titles she hadn’t heard of previously.

“Having that ecosystem is great,” Sou rou said. “When you’re a founder of a company, you often feel like you’re on an island by yourself. It’s not that you necessarily are, but you’re trying to be all the things. You’re the product developer. You’re the marketing person. You’re the sales arm. You’re the CFO. at’s regardless of the company that you’re in or regardless of the industry.” en, “we can be really laser-focused on the products that we’re trying to build,” Sou rou said.

Having an “ecosystem” of supportive companies — like accounting or consulting rms — can help founders create and follow a roadmap for success that would help them scale and grow more quickly.

Matt Baxter, founder and CEO of one-way video interviewing platform Wedge, said becoming a tech hub starts with attracting anchor companies that draw talent, capital investment and complementary companies. (Read about Wedge on Page 10.) “ e more ‘FOMO’ that exists, the more ‘We want to be a part of this culture,’ the more it grows,” Baxter said. “All of a sudden, checkbooks open up, talent starts moving in, and people start changing career paths to enter that space.”

Still, that takes time. Time for young entrepreneurs to age, fail, learn and pay their experiences forward to the next generation.

“ ose are all things that factor into making this place grow,” he said.

Contact: rachel.watson@crain.com (989) 533-9685; @RachelWatson86