Week 7/10 — A need in Melbourne’s Ecosystem

Three weeks left, but so much more to learn! Last week, I shared Melbourne’s strength and potential as a startup community. This week I’m going to cover what’s wrong and what could be fixed in the space coast’s ecosystem, so let’s get right to it:

The space coast offers more engineering talent per capita than any other in the United States…

but, does it offer other areas in talent? Last week I argued that one of Melbourne’s biggest strength is it’s tech industry. The space coast is a location where the United States bases all their space operations and is surrounded by some of the top engineering firms, so it’s not surprising that the space coast produces a lot of technology-based talent. But, there’s not a lot of top notch marketing firms nearby, and the closest university nearby (Florida Institute of Technology), attracts more students interested in technology and engineering than in any other fields — so naturally marketing and creative talents are scarce in this area.

Why is this a weakness?

Regardless of what industry a startup is in, an ideal team includes a business-oriented guy, the practical experience guy, and the marketing expert guy. For example: in an ideal tech startup team, you’d expect there to be a CEO who knows how to run a business, the guy that understands the technology, and a guy that knows marketing and how to build a brand. The space coast is short of those individuals and if any startup is to be successful, they need creatives.