What are Employment Black Holes? Here's a video abstract of the concept article on
cities and ventures from the new issue
of Coller Venture Review. Throughout the
ages some cities were always the centers
of economic activity: Babylon, Rome,
Istanbul, Venice, and later Paris, London,
Shanghai and New York. These cities
flourished for centuries until some of
them yielded to other, more appealing
centers. They were doing the right things
and these things endured. In the 21st
century the world has become flat and
smooth. Flat in the sense of allowing
mobility of people, ideas and enterprises,
and smooth in the sense that it is
becoming easier to move from one place
to another. The forces of globalization
and digitization are making the world of
place where quality jobs can disappear
from one city and rapidly reappear in
another. Old barriers such as language,
immigration, culture and funding are
disappearing, as cities want to attract
the innovators of the world.
I know they've got auto shows in Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, but there's only one Motor City.
There's only one Detroit, and if you're looking for the world's best cars and the workers who make those cars
you need to be in Detroit, Michigan! City
managers find themselves competing in a
global world, where ideas, people and
capital are pulled to the best cities
across the globe. Cities and countries
that fall behind in this game are
destined to stagnate, as 
happened to Detroit, Pittsburgh,
Venezuela, and even small countries like
Lithuania. Jobs are being sucked away to
other cheaper smarter or unique cities.
We are here to help create the jobs and
future you deserve.
Employment Black Holes are geographical areas like the Silicon Valley,
Boston's route 128, New York, Shenzhen or Tel Aviv, that are so compelling that
they pull in talent, funding and
innovation, and must constantly create
and sustain jobs at the expense of the less fortunate cities. Here are the four steps
a city leader must take to create
enduring jobs: #1: Establish a
minimum base: if you don't have the
basics such as education favorable
immigration policies or ubiquitous web
access in place, strive to get them.
#2: Select your domain based on your unfair
advantage. If you have a physical one such as oil deposits or tourism, make it the
basis for your local black hole. If you
don't, then invent one.
#3: Support the domain with the visible hand of the public sector to lead the
invisible hand of the private sector. You
should not do it alone. You should allow
and invite private players to take the
lead. You can and should support the
domain with policies such as friendly
regulations and data sharing.
#4: Choose the next domains to prevent
reliance on a single advantage after the
initial setup of the first black hole,
continue to support its local leadership
and move on to establish the next black
hole. Want to learn more about
Employment Black Holes? Visit our website to get
access to more articles from our brand
new City Venture Issue of
Coller Venture Review.
