Not all innovation needs to come out of Silicon Valley!
I've just watched Silicon Prairie (download for free or as much as you can afford). Last fall, a team of journalists and activists joined reddit's Internet 2012 Bus Tour and traveled from Denver, CO to Danville, KY to capture the Internet’s role in the US Midwest's growing Silicon Prairie. Nimblebot, a digital agency, shot and produced a mini-documentary showcasing the journey. I particularly liked several companies listed below.
AgLocal
AgLocal connects quality meat producers with high-margin buyers. This can work very well in Bulgaria. Most food and agriculture producers in the country are small and mid-sized farms who struggle to sell their produce or work with middlemen for a low margin. On the other hand there are more and more people, especially in big cities who would like to pay for locally produced food but don't know where to buy it from or don't have the time to visit a farm to buy it (like myself). Last but not least what big supermarket chains sell is simply too expensive and crappy.
As far as I know there are several attempts at such kind of companies/organizations here but they are small and not widely popular.
Homes For Hackers
Homes For Hackers in Kansas City is offering 3 months of rent-free, Google Fiber-connected start-up space to entrepreneurs. I have already heard several people discussing similar ideas in Bulgaria, mostly because cost of living here, hence cost of failure is very low. I wish them good luck.
SparkFun Electronics
SparkFun is an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible. According to the movie they create open source hardware and even shipped to Antarctica which is cool.
Once again this business model can work in Bulgaria. We had lots of electronics produce back in the past and still have. There is still talented people in this area who will be looking for a job if their companies close shop due to Chinese competition.
Watch the movie and tell me which ones you like ? Do you think Bulgaria can have its Silicon areas outside Sofia Valley ?
Comments !