Irvine's New Horizon of High-Tech Growth and Entrepreneurial Drive

An article we liked from Thought Leader Dave Coffaro of Greater Irvine Chamber:

Irvine’s Next Chapter: A Celebration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Two years ago, the Greater Irvine Chamber and the City of Irvine began a conversation about a simple question:

What will drive Irvine’s next chapter of economic growth?

Former Irvine City Manager Oliver Chi, Assistant City Manager Pete Carmichael, and I began a series of discussions about Irvine’s economic future and how we could build upon one of the most successful city-building stories in America.

Since its incorporation in 1971, Irvine has experienced extraordinary, intentional growth. Guided by the principles of its Master Plan, the city created an enviable combination of great neighborhoods, employment centers, educational institutions, open space, and quality of life.

For much of Irvine’s first half-century, real estate development was an important engine of that growth.

But successful communities evolve.

Irvine is approaching a fundamentally different stage in its development. Much of the city has been built. Large areas have been intentionally preserved as open space and will remain that way. There are still opportunities for residential, commercial, and industrial development, but development at the scale that characterized Irvine’s first 50 years will not define its next 50.

That realization led us to another question:

If Irvine’s next economic chapter will not be driven primarily by what we build, what will drive it?

We believe a large part of the answer is what we create.

From Development to Innovation

Fortunately, Irvine enters this next chapter with an extraordinary advantage: innovation is already deeply embedded in our business community culture.

We have a remarkably diverse economy: from thousands of small businesses and entrepreneurs to educational and research institutions, nonprofit organizations, and some of the world’s largest companies. We have exceptional talent and businesses operating at the forefront of emerging technologies.

But innovation alone does not create economic growth. Innovation must be translated into entrepreneurship, companies, products, services, investment, and jobs.

The Greater Irvine Chamber and the City engaged an independent external research group to help us better understand which areas of our economy are particularly well positioned for future growth. That work identified four high-growth sectors: healthcare innovation and medical technologies; foundational technologies, including artificial intelligence and quantum computing; next-generation defense technologies; and climate transition and decarbonization technologies.

Our research also reinforced something equally important. If we want more entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale companies in Irvine, we need to make it easier for them to do it.

Making Irvine Easier to Navigate

That meant looking at entrepreneurship from the perspective of the entrepreneur.

How easy is it to obtain a business license?

Can permitting be simpler and faster?

Where does a founder go when they need help?

How do we connect entrepreneurs with mentors, talent, customers, capital, and other entrepreneurs?

How can the City and the Greater Irvine Chamber help people navigate the inevitable friction involved in turning an idea into an enterprise?

Those questions have helped shape a broader effort to make Irvine an even more…

Read the rest of this article at greaterirvinechamber.com…

Thanks for this article excerpt and its graphics to Dave Coffaro, President & CEO of Greater Irvine Chamber.

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