BUILD ON OUR STRENGTHS
Tallahassee doesn't have to become the next Austin, Raleigh or Silicon Valley. We have something those communities don't have: the National MagLab, FAMU, Florida State University, FSU Health, world-class researchers and specialized scientific infrastructure already here.
The question is whether we are doing enough to turn those assets into new businesses, new investment and high-paying jobs for Tallahassee.
TOM’S EXPERIENCE BRINGS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE
Tom is a business owner who does business in Greenville, South Carolina; Austin, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina – and across North America. That experience has given him a firsthand look at what communities are doing to attract investment, support private industry and turn local assets into economic opportunity.
He's seen what happens when business leaders, local government, city and county leaders, state agencies, colleges and universities, and major employers work together toward a common goal.
That perspective matters.
Economic development isn't something City Hall can do alone. Our job should be to bring the right people to the table, remove unnecessary obstacles, coordinate our efforts, and help create the conditions where businesses want to invest, and people want to build their careers.
MAKE TALLAHASSEE A DESTINATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF TECHNOLOGY
We don't need to invent an economic-development ecosystem in Tallahassee - we need to connect the extraordinary one we already have to private investment, commercialization, and jobs.
Tallahassee is home to two major research universities, a nationally significant engineering program, the world's largest and highest-powered magnet laboratory, a growing health-sciences ecosystem, Tallahassee State College and Lively Technical College - all feeding talent, research and innovation into our local economy. That's an economic development opportunity we should aggressively build upon.
TOM’S EXPERIENCE INFORMS HIS PRIORITIES
- Build a coordinated recruitment strategy. Bring OEV, FSU, the MagLab, FSU Health, hospitals and local businesses together around a common economic-development message and target companies that can benefit from the expertise and facilities already here.
- Turn research into companies and jobs. Make it easier for entrepreneurs and established companies to partner with local researchers, commercialize technology, test products and establish operations in Tallahassee.
At the same time, we need to actively recruit companies to relocate here or launch here by having shovel-ready, site-ready land, a trained workforce and a local government that can make decisions and solve problems at the speed of business.
We should be asking companies: "What would it take for you to locate your next facility, expand your operation or launch your company in Tallahassee?" Then work across the City, County, State, universities, and private sector to make it happen.
Economic development doesn't wait. Neither should we.
- Build a recognizable Tallahassee technology cluster. We should become known not simply as the home of a great university and laboratory, but as a place where magnet science, medical technology, advanced materials and related industries come together.
THE GOAL
- More companies.
- More investment.
- More high-paying jobs.
- More opportunities for Tallahassee families to thrive.
- More opportunities for graduates to build their careers here.
We already have extraordinary assets.
Let's build an economy around them.