Silicon Valley has give birth and continues to birth company after company that can literally change our world. Netscape, Google, Facebook, etc… and they keep coming.

The power of that small patch of former California farmland spawned enthusiasm for other areas around the country and globe to copy the model (and mimic the name). Actually all the cool names were taken in the late ‘90s.. Silicon Alley in NY made a dent… There was even a Silicon Plains (Idaho I think?)…

But what about Charlotte? Can Charlotte become a Silicon something… a meaningful place to spark something unique and powerful in the entrepreneurial landscape?

Charlotte is one of the top rated cities for business in our country… and actually it is known all over the world as the once sleepy town where two local banks disrupted the paradigm, fought interstate banking laws and merged their way to become some of the biggest financial players on the planet.

Does that make us a banking town?

No, it makes us entrepreneurs. We are creators. We challenge the system. The men who built our city flew to NY and CA and played their southern accent and friendly demeanor as a trojan horse and a strategic weapon to innovate and win.

Today’s Charlotte is looking for an identity. We are no longer “the banking town”. Duke Energy (a homegrown product) is dominating an industry. Fortune 500 companies are moving in quickly and young, smart driven people keep coming in droves…

So what is the “New Charlotte”.

Consider: We have more capital within a mile of my office than most major cities in our country combined. We have international business executives who could serve as mentors on building and scaling companies with global aspirations. We have very bright engineers solving energy problems and financial problems. Our town has done it before and to great success…

Here’s a thought:

LET’S BE ENTREPRENEURS.

Let’s embrace it, be known for it, support it, push it and make it happen.

Mayor Foxx, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Duke Energy, etc, etc. You are up! I think your best investments and future are here in the back yard. Invest real capital in our people and in our city… I’m not talking about private equity dollars or LBOs for big companies… invest in STARTUPS… let them innovate, let them break paradigms and try to disrupt things… When we do this I believe Charlotte will once again rally around a bigger future… I believe the investment in being entrepreneurs, innovating and redefining Charlotte as one of the startup capitals of the US will come back in bundles.

Let’s talk about it.