Business Clusters and Border Towns
Last week, I attended the InBIA eBuilders Summit in Niagara Falls, NY, where I spent 2 days alongside ecosystem practitioners from across North America. As part of my visit, I decided to explore the region — traveling from Toronto to Buffalo by way of the spectacular Niagara Falls and its synonymous twin border towns.
To kick off the conference, we first heard a brief history of the area from Mayor Paul Dyster of Niagara Falls. The town has always been a major crossroads — the waterfall forcing travelers to portage around the cataract and often convene at a trading post nearby. Mayor Dyster described the trading post’s old chimney — and smiled as he laid claim to the continent’s first incubator. In the ensuing years, thriving trade and the advent of hydroelectric power attracted innovators like Nikola Tesla to the region.
I was naturally drawn to the sessions on regional collaboration and business clusters. I discovered many fascinating examples of ecosystem builders in border towns who are harnessing local assets to develop specialized, vibrant economies. While our conversations were certainly too brief, the people I met were inspiring:
- Lucas Perlman from Toronto, ON: For several years, Lucas has been working at MaRS Discovery District, a massive innovation center that supports over 1200 startups in the heart of Canada’s business capital. In addition to specialized accelerators for health, fintech, cleantech and enterprise, MaRS supports 17 regional innovation centers across Ontario. Their commitment to measuring impact and constantly improving through data has set a standard for much of the country.
- Sean Heidinger from Buffalo, NY: Since 2015, Sean has grown the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, a dense cluster focused on innovation in the healthcare industry. Their programs range from an open door coworking space called Dig to 43North, one of the largest business plan competitions in the world. BNMC creates connections across member institutions in pursuit of its mission to further economic growth, ignite urban revitalization, and build a strong, thriving community across the campus, surrounding neighborhoods and the broader region.
- Paul Riser from Detroit, MI: For approximately two decades, Techtown Detroit has embraced the strengths of the Motor City, creating vertical programs in healthcare, water-tech, automotive, healthcare, fintech and music. In recent years, they’ve increasingly worked across organizations to stitch together urban development projects, including programs for main-street businesses and a novel initiative for non-profits called Co.Act. When Amazon passed on their HQ2 bid, regional stakeholders in Greater Detroit and Windsor, Canada figured they would further pursue their ambitious cross-border plans irrespective of anyone else’s decisions.
- Mary Louise Helbig from St. Louis, MO: Often called the Gateway to the West, St. Louis sits on the Missouri / Illinois border. Mary Louise and her dedicated team at ITEN have put Union to work — running programs for idea validation, mentorship and investor readiness in a virtual-first model — at no cost to entrepreneurs. The ITEN team carefully measures its impact with an annual report and plans to expand their efforts across the region.
- Linda Ufland from Brownsville, TX: Based at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Linda and her colleagues Julio and Maria are committed to creating opportunities in their own riverside border town. After SpaceX announced plans to launch their Mars expedition in South Texas, the team partnered with the Houston Technology Center (HTC) to expand this impact. Their STARGATE Technology Launch Pad incubator trains participants in everything from logistics to welding as they equip the local workforce with high-demand skills and prepare for a space-faring future.
Border towns have always stood at the crossroads of ideas and culture. In these times of uncertainty, these bold people are wisely embracing diversity and regional collaboration to create shared opportunity and outcomes. I was lucky to spend a few days with them.
As I walked across the Rainbow Bridge between the US and Canada, I paused at the international border to gaze at the waterfall. The roar and mist of the Falls left me in awe of the complex systems that span watersheds and wetlands. Much like our own startup communities, these systems require careful understanding, stewardship, and a holistic approach.
