I for one am all for teacher incentives but do not think it should be weighed towards math, engineering, etc teachers. A good teacher will inspire no matter what discipline they are teaching. I am heavily indebted towards a english teacher in high school. He inspired a sense of continuous learning and curiosity that has made me what I am today.

All sorts are needed to build a strong tech community. From designers, programmers to communication specialists who have very little technical knowledge. Smart, engaged folks are needed in all areas.

I feel RI's problem is infrastructure and not a branding one. I moved here about 3 years ago from Seattle and RI (providence specifically) is just not where it needs to be to attract young folks out of college. Public transportation is weak and parking is the worst. Unless you are in school there is no advantage to choose Prov over Boston or NYC.

Case in point one of my developers moved to NYC after staying in Prov for barely a year. The other visits from Seattle and spends all his time in NYC when he comes out east except to take a train up to come to a team meeting here.

I think instead of spending money on branding we should be spending it building out places like the space above the RIEDC into a tech hub and reworking the expenses small business must pay to do business in RI. You look at the taxes one must pay to do business in RI as opposed to MA and no wonder they are getting most of the young startups. A reworking of the tax structure would also encourage the 'service' industry because you need bars, eateries , etc to attract young people.

I desperately need young talented engineers and they are just not to be found right now which has forced us to look nationally to find folks. I would much rather have them local but Providence is unfortunately a tough sell.

I do not want to sound doom and gloom because I feel this can be fixed. Look at what Portland , OR has done in the past 5-10 years to attract new business and they are doing it right. They have/are building out incredible public transportation as well as encouraging communities like the pearl district which is where lots of startups are relocating to. Lots of folks I know are now choosing portland over seattle which is big deal.

The tearing down of 195 has got me really excited as it is a great chance to build out something worthwhile which I hope happens and the city does not succumb to real estate condo speculators. That area needs to become a destination and not just another blah condo wasteland.

We have super talented folks going to great colleges in RI. We just need to figure out how to keep them. That is the key, keep/attract the young folks and the entrepreneurs will follow. Right now we just do not have the infrastructure to support the next amazon. I hope in 5-10 years I will be singing a different tune because I like RI and want to stay.

-sean

I agree that transportation is one of the major issues.. and that college grads from Providence/RI schools need to be convinced that this is a city/state that has a lot to offer in furthering their career and lifestyle. 

We need more focus on great places in the city, strengthen community identity, bring businesses downtown.  A strong urban core will create momentum for the rest of the city.

It's not going to be one big thing.  It's going to be the many little things adding to the AS220s, the Waterfires, Prov Geeks, RI Nexus, Concentric events.  It's getting zipcar and shared bikes downtown, co-working facilities around the state, 3rd places focused on building community and collaboration, more investment banks/VCs to be looking here, issue-focused round tables, etc. 

We can only go the political route so far -- How can we use our connections, skills, interests to make conversations like this turn into some actual action?  What current organizations and assets should we be leveraging to make these smaller efforts make an impact?  It's that flywheel effect... it won't be overnight... but there is already huge momentum in the tech sector.  

We need to be working on the unsexy jobs as well...  the working waterfront, a huge existing asset,  desperately needs training for workers -- high wage blue-collar jobs that have a huge economic impact on the state.  More training programs for those guys.  

Ideally we'd put together Concentric-like events that put our minds toward solving issues in addition to the networking.