Why Tempe is Arizona’s Startup Hub

A Note from Mat Sherman, Seedscout Founder & JamPad Member

As many articles point to, one of the keys to having a great startup ecosystem is density. Phoenix, as a whole, doesn’t have it. Greater Phoenix clocks in at 14,599 square miles for the whole valley. For comparison, this is 290 times greater than San Francisco’s, clocking in at 46.87 square miles. The Phoenix city leaders know this and have been pushing what is being called The Warehouse District. Just two blocks south of Chase Field lays WebPT, Galvanize, and what many think is the future of the Phoenix startup scene. This is the Warehouse District.

With Galvanize opening in 2017, it allowed hundreds of tech startups to move into downtown and start to create that density. A year later, The Larry opened up to be the first higher-scale dining option in the area. The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) and the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) also use the warehouse district as a place to show VCs the best Phoenix has to offer.

Despite everyone’s best efforts, I think they will fall short for three reasons: