Tech hubs seem to pop up in the middle of the night. When you look at the history of Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas you’ll see that the areas were building towards their dominance in the tech sector for quite some time.
The problem is, there’s only a handful of major technology and innovation hubs in the United States.
Delaware is positioned in what many believe could become a thriving tech corridor on the east coast, similar to Silicon Valley in California which stretches from San Francisco to San Jose. A few hours from Boston, District of Columbia, New York City and Baltimore, to name a few thriving metropolitan areas, Delaware is right smack in the middle of it all. That combined with a few favorable public policies and a supportive population, Wilmington, Delaware is posited perfectly for an explosion of innovation and technology in the years to come.
And that’s a good thing for the tech industry and startups alike.
Here are a few reasons the tech scene is prospering in First State’s biggest city, Wilmington.
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Delaware Technology Park
The University of Delaware and Delaware Technology Park, in addition to other key partnerships across the state, is quietly building up an impressive research program.
While it is located in Newark, Delaware, Delaware Technology Park is home to five buildings and more that 50 science and technology base businesses flourishing. The Park, as it’s become widely known as, is privately funded and also has strong ties to its neighbor, The University of Delaware.
A former chemical engineer at duPont, Bowman knew that Delaware, home to chemical and tech giants like his employer, was fertile ground for future technologies and the science minds to grow them.
“We knew we had a lot of talent to birth new companies to do new things,” said Bowman. “We have specific resources here and a connection with the U of D, services like microscopy, aids, labs – things affordable but necessary.”
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Delaware’s advanced corporate status laws
In 2013, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law the Delaware General Corporate Law. Today, more than 50% of all publicly-traded companies in the United States including 64% of the Fortune 500 have chosen Delaware as their legal home. Delaware has long been heralded for its progressive approach to its judicial system.
Some of the reasons companies use Delaware as their legal home include:
• Corporation ownership can be transferred with ease since the state does not record business owners’ names or require a record of ownership transfer
• No need to be a Delaware resident to be a shareholder, director or officer of a Corporation
• No state income tax for Delaware corporations that operate out of state
• No business license required for Delaware corporations not operating in Delaware
• No state sales tax on intangible personal property
• Stock shares owned by persons outside Delaware are not subject to Delaware taxes.
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A thriving community
There is a thriving subculture in the heart of Wilmington whose dedication to innovating the way we live and work through technology is unparalleled. There’s a monthly meetup on meetup.com make Delaware’s tech community thrive.
