A new study ranks Oklahoma City as one of the 15 best cities to take a good idea and launch a startup. (Photo by Riccardo Annandale via Unsplash)
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City is an extremely attractive place for business owners and entrepreneurs, according to a new study that ranks it the 12th-best city for startups among the largest U.S. metro areas.
The city is one of the coolest and cheapest places to live and do business, with a corporate tax rate of 6% (a full point below the national average), the second-lowest incorporation fees ($52) and the eighth most affordable employees ($52,688 average annual income), a report based on the study noted.
Real Estate Witch compared the 50 most populous U.S. metro areas across 12 metrics to determine the 15 best places to launch a startup. The study included data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report stressed that to be successful, entrepreneurs need to build their businesses in areas with favorable tax laws, access to funding, and a local talent pool of educated workers.
Oklahoma City had an average of 6,003 business applications per 100,000 residents in the past five years, compared to the national average of 5,931, and employment growth of 3.20% in the past 12 months, according to the report.
The report noted Oklahoma City entrepreneurs also have resources like the Thunder Launchpad, a 12-week accelerator program to help founders scale their business with free workspaces and a mentorship network, and access to homegrown investors such as i2E, which has pumped more than $77 million into Oklahoma businesses in all phases.
“Oklahoma City is very supportive of the startup community and startups in general,” i2E CEO Scott Meacham said. “The business community, city leaders, everyone is willing to do what they can do to help.”
Meacham said a number of successful businesses started in places like Boston, New York or Seattle then moved to Oklahoma City, where they have thrived because they were noticed and supported.
He points out a startup needs four things to succeed, beginning with a good idea and an entrepreneur willing to take it market.
“It also needs mentoring and capital from i2E or others,” Meacham said.
Over its 22-year history, i2E’s services have provided business expertise and funding to 745 of Oklahoma’s emerging small businesses. And they aren’t alone in Oklahoma City.
“We have plenty of resources available to startups,” Meacham said.
Seeing the success businesses have found in Oklahoma City attracts other entrepreneurs, he said.
People from the current generation view work completely differently, so they are more conducive to starting their own business, Meacham said.
It’s a good way to continue Oklahoma’s goal to diversify and grow the economy, he said.
One way is to acquire businesses and bring them here. Startups are the other approach.
“It’s like planting little saplings that grow into great trees,” Meacham said.
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