Ithaca Ranked 13th Most Innovative City in the US

With a wealth of educated and skilled talent, vibrant startup scene, and a high volume of issued patents, Ithaca, New York is a small tech savvy community leading the nation. USA Today and 24/7 Wall Street listed Ithaca #13 on its list of The 25 Most Innovative Cities in the US.

The USA Today article highlighted Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement(CREA) for its effort to support economic progress through innovation and entrepreneurship.

“One of the things that makes Ithaca a great place to start and grow a new business is the shared commitment by universities, communities, and New York state to support entrepreneurs as a driver of upstate NY’s economic future,” said Tom Schryver, executive director of CREA.

It also mentions Rev:Ithaca Startup Works and the Southern Tier Startup Alliance as resources available to startups looking to grow their businesses.

“We are continually reminded how lucky we are to be here in Ithaca and glad we are to have launched our startup here,” shared Adam Maher, president and founder of Ursa Space Systems, a global geospatial intelligence startup. “Of course for us there’s a [alumni] connection to Cornell, but on top of that there’s a quality of life here that attracts some of the best and brightest talent, and such a strong startup community and support network. At this point, we can’t imagine having built our headquarters anywhere else.”

Ithaca, NY is also ranked as the #1 Best Collegetown in America by Livability for its abundance of arts, culture, and recreation amenities.

“My husband and I moved to Ithaca to start a family 14 years ago and haven’t looked back,” said Elisa Miller-Out, managing partner at Chloe. Capital, a second stage venture capital invested fund focused on women-led technology companies, and an entrepreneur in residence at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works. “We’ve launched multiple successful businesses here and it’s been exciting to watch the startup community grow and develop over these last few years. We now have a truly vibrant startup ecosystem with multiple accelerators, incubators and competitions to support high growth companies, such as Rev: Ithaca Startup Works, 76West, WE Cornell, I-Corps and more. As an investor with Chloe Capital, we’re seeing tremendous startup talent from the area in our pipeline. Finally, as a mom I feel lucky that my children get to grow up in a place with such stunning natural beauty and such a high quality of life.”

The USA Today article states “many factors contribute to differences in innovation activity in U.S. cities, including the presence of research institutions, efforts by local government and chambers of commerce, access to venture capital, and the ability of leadership to read the tea leaves of the future.”