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["Heather A. Hesketh" <heather AT hesketh.com>]

At 01:01 PM 10/14/1999 -0400, Thomas Beckett wrote:
>
>       Another thing I noticed is that while the article itself was generally
>favorable in tone and content, the headline "Wrong Way RTP" and the
>subject headings were quite negative.  It struck me as a spin applied by
>Upside's editors, sneering down their noses at us from the lofty
>Valley.  (The author, Jason Kelly's main gig is at DigitalSouth, which
>is based in Atlanta.) 

Not to set the tone for my posts as being "me too", but the title and
subheadings really jumped out at me. Regardless of anything positive in
the article, the title and subheads reinforced an idea that this area is
backwoods, which irritates me to no end. The attitude is pervasive in and
outside the Triangle. 

All too often I've seen companies with no money talk local services
providers into giving them a break, because the big one is coming (when
they get funding). Then as soon as they get funding, they engage agencies
in Boston, San Fran, NYC, etc. This is true for Web development,
marketing, branding, and visual design. It's probably also true in other
service sectors. One of the driving forces behind this is that the VC
don't value the work of the local service folks. Another factor is that to
attract other VC, the initial investors force the companies to use
agencies that the "big time" VCs know. It gives the company third-party
validation.

What we have to do to change the trend of taking your money out is to
educate the initial stage VC and other decision makers that local firms do
the same (or better) quality work. Of course, this means that we have to
do that same (or better) quality work, because nothing convinces like hard
evidence in the form of a strong portfolio. It also means talking about
it. Shamelessly. 

For those of you who label yourselves entrepreneurs, don't forget the CED.
It's their mission to increase VC participation in this area and they're
open to suggestions on how to do that. I think part of doing that is to
also ensure not just VC backed companies are strong. A strong region is a
balanced region.

hesketh.com has also taken the tact of working from the outside in. As
Steven said earlier, we're better known outside the Triangle than inside.
Our clients include folks in Tel Aviv, NYC, and other points around the
globe. We've had as much exposure in national press outlets as we have
from local folks. It's an easier sell for us now within the Triangle,
because we can point to the work we've done outside the region. So,
there's obviously a perception problem all around. Our big names in the
region *don't* pull the same sales punch that our big names outside the
region.

Talking about there being a problem isn't whining, because you need to
name the beast before you can attack it effectively. Coming together as we
are trying to do here, is a great first step in attacking the problems at
hand. 

I *really* liked Rachel's point that she wanted to see the area get
recognition because she likes it here and doesn't want to move. Obviously,
any of us--employees and business owners alike--could move to one of the
"hot spots". We've chosen, for whatever reason, to plant roots in the
Triangle. 

Heather

--
Heather A. Hesketh           !       hesketh.com/inc
Web consultant               !       vox: 919.854.1570
http://www.hesketh.com       !       fax: 919.854.1579