Entrepreneurial Hot Spots Ranks Fargo, ND

ENTREPRENEURIAL HOT SPOTS RANKS FARGO, ND 7/15/02 - For the second year in a row, Fargo was ranked among the top ten best small-market communities as an Entreprenuerial Hot Spot by the research firm, Cognetics. Cognetics, a Waltham, Mass.-based firm, measures entrepreneurial activity. The "Entrepreneurial Hot Spots" report utilizes two items for their measurements - significant starts and young growers � to rank metros in terms of the frequency with which companies start and grow. Significant starts are defined as the percentage of all firms in a metro area made up of companies started in the last 10 years that currently employ at least five people. Young growers is the percentage of young businesses in a given area that are exhibiting fast growth, as defined by a growth index that captures both percent and absolute growth. Fargo continues to score well in this and other studies due to a number of factors. Fargo has both an east/west interstate (I-94) and a north/south interstate (I-29). Three large universities exist within the Fargo-Moorhead metro area providing research, training opportunities, and an elite, and educated workforce. Fargo continues to be one of the fast growing metros in the Upper Midwest. This alone provides opportunity for new businesses with a larger workforce for employees and a greater market for goods and services. Perhaps the largest stimuli of new business are the spin-offs created by former or existing employees of a burgeoning tech sector in Fargo that includes Microsoft Business Solutions. To learn more about Fargo, we invite you to visit the Fargo-Cass County Economic Development website. BACK TO HOME PAGE