Competition for cutting-edge businesses and the talent they hire is fierce, and not just for headline deals like Amazon HQ2. Does Portland have the site-selection moxie to compete with the likes of Seattle, Denver and Austin?
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Menashe Properties principal Jordan Menashe said Portland can compete with any city.
"Portland has become a sought-after destination for the highly educated and experienced in search of sustainable employment. Our culture is relaxed — maybe even weird, as some might say — yet driven, and people moving to Portland choose it.
"In my conversations with out-of-state business owners, I enjoy marketing Portland as a special gem, populated with hard-working individuals positively eager to take a risk to start a new business or grow an existing business. I'm highly confident that if government and business owners continue to invest in the right projects, places and sectors, we'll continue to grow."
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Capstone Partners principal Chris Nelson said Portland has and will continue to compete well for businesses and talent against other cities, including Seattle, Austin and San Francisco.
"Portland has a healthy and expanding tech ecosystem, and has developed a great reputation among young professionals, venture capital providers and employers," he said. "They know it as a relatively affordable place to invest and grow a small to medium-sized company, especially when compared to more expensive metro areas like Seattle and the Bay Area.”
Menashe and Nelson will both be speakers at Bisnow's Portland State of the Market event Oct. 19 at the Benson Hotel.
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