Small But Mighty: 5 Tiny Tech Hubs Across North America

When it comes innovation and tech, we all know about the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor, New York, Boston and Silicon Valley, but if you look beyond the bright lights of the big cities, there are tons of smaller tech hubs that are making impressive waves, despite their size — maybe even because of their intimate, tight-knit ecosystem.

Here are 5 tiny tech hubs making a world of difference by reinvigorating economies across North America and developing innovative technology for everything from aquaculture to mining to health care.

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada*

Population: 40,000

Traditional economy: agriculture, fishery, tourism

Local accelerators: Startup Zone, LaunchPadPEI

Notable startups/tech companies: Island AquaTech, AGAMA, Forestry.io

Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.

Population: 70,000

Traditional economy: government, health care, manufacturing (chemical)

Local accelerators: Start It Up Delaware, 1313 Innovation, The Mill

Notable startups/tech companies: NERDiT NOW, WhyFly, Geoswap

Learn how accelerators can help founders scale their companies.

Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.

Population: 199,000

Traditional economy: manufacturing (auto, aviation and furniture), health

Local accelerators: Start Garden, Seamless IoT

Notable startups/tech companies: VNN, CertifID, PhotoUp

North Bay, Ontario, Canada

Population: 51,500

Traditional economy: health, education, government

Local accelerator: Northern TechHub

Notable startups/tech companies: MetricAid, JUST LED US Inc., Drillco Mining and Exploration

Hoboken, New Jersey

Population: 55,000

Traditional economy: university, publishing

Local accelerators: Mission50, NJ Tech Meetup

Notable startups/tech companies: Flow, Noteworth, Sagisu

While researching and writing this list, it became evident how little is written about small tech hubs outside of North America.

DRIVE, a new global conference on scaleup ecosystems that Hockeystick is hosting with the Lazaridis Institute, will bring together international policy-makers, researchers, accelerators and successful tech CEOs, to compare best practices and highlight bold ideas.

DRIVE will host thought-leaders from around the world — including Canada, the U.S., the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Israel, Ireland, South Korea, and England.

It will be an opportunity to learn how exactly regional tech ecosystems around the world foster innovation and build thriving, liveable communities.

With keynote speakers like renowned urban theorist Richard Florida, professor and entrepreneurship ecosystem pioneer Daniel Isenberg, and international angel investor and advisor Deena Shakir, it’s sure to be filled with informative and exciting discussions.

Early-bird tickets are on sale until January 31st, so don’t miss out.

Do you have a tiny tech hub we should know about? Even better, do you live and work in one? Let us know! We’ll be continuing to highlight more hubs throughout the year.

*Full disclosure the author was born and raised on Prince Edward Island.